Construction of the underwater portion of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) will begin in 2019, according to the project managing director Luca Schieppati, who was quoted by the Azeri news agency Trend.
TAP, one constructed and in operation, will carry Azeri natural gas from Greece, via Albania and the Adriatic, on to Italy and other west European markets.
The eastern terminal of the underwater TAP pipeline will be near the Albanian city of Fier, with its deepest segment some 820 meters below the sea's surface.
"We will have prepared 85 percent of the ground in Greece and Albanian by the end of the year, while 70 percent of the pipes will have been placed and covered," Schieppati said.
