Outgoing Prime Minister Kiril Petkov announced, at a briefing, that the gas interconnector Greece-Bulgaria, which will be used to transport gas from Azerbaijan to Bulgaria, now has Act 14 (the first step of control of construction works), and that the project company building the interconnector has assumed the commitment to provide Acts 15 (ascertaining the construction's condition and its readiness to be put into operation) and 16 (a formal authorization for use) by the end of August. If Act 16 is not issued next month, that would mean that “we have again gone back to the years when the national interest did not prevail,” PM Petkov said, and went on to lay emphasis on the fact that GERB party had delayed the project for 12 years to the advantage of Russia’s Gazprom.

• IGB Interconnector inaugurated in Komotini
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At an official ceremony on 8 July, PM Petkov and his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis declared the end of construction work, with the interconnector still in testing mode.