The BRUA (Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria) gas pipeline will not be ready in December 2019, as planned so far, but only in December 2020, according to Transgaz’s financial report for the first half of the year.

The company explains, in a document entitled “The plan for the development of the national gas transport system for the period 2019-2028”, the reasons that led to these delays.

“With all the efforts made by Transgaz for the realization of the BRUA Phase I project, during the implementation of the project, problems were encountered which, cumulatively, affect the full implementation of the project within the assumed period. The issues are mainly arising from the conduct of the tender procedures, the completion and improvement of the legislative framework, the identification of archaeological sites, meteorological – adverse conditions that have manifested over long periods of time, the extension of negotiations with some land owners / users, and a large number of changes that appeared during the execution of the works”, specify Transgaz officials, quoted by Agerpres.

On July 17, the Ministry of Economy informed, in a press release, that Transgaz has already completed almost half of the pipeline, and the three compression stations are ready for 80-90%.