“Safety is TAP’s number one priority, so the aim was to mitigate the risks of project construction traffic for the residents of the area. As a result, the transport of machinery for the construction of the pipeline will completely bypass four villages and approximately 2,000 residents near Albania’s Bilisht over the next two years,” said the message.

The new road will avoid heavy traffic on the existing road axis that connects Bilisht with Vishocica and the surrounding area, according to the consortium.

After the bulk civil engineering works are complete, the new road will also facilitate transport for farmers and agricultural machinery, further easing traffic in the area.

TAP’s overall campaign to improve road infrastructure started in July 2015. During the first phase, more than 58 km of roads were rehabilitated, 2 new bridges were built and 40 existing bridges were upgraded. The second phase comprises the rehabilitation of another 120 km of roads, of which more than 60 km have already been upgraded.

TAP project, worth 4.5 billion euros, is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italy’s south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAP’s shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

More about: #TAP