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By Trend

Albania’s energy and infrastructure ministry has received a proposal from Austria's Ivicom GmbH for the construction of a 500 MW natural gas-fired cogeneration power plant near the southeastern city of Korca, said a message from the ministry.

The project was presented by Ivicom and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The Austrian company has already concluded a feasibility study on the project which will be completely privately-funded.

Gas will be supplied to the power plant from the future Trans-Atlantic Pipeline (TAP) that will cross the area which provides a good opportunity to have a secure supply and efficient power generation, said the ministry.

The project will also give a boost to the local economy through the creation of greenhouses and provide efficient district heating for the city of Korca, said the message.

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

Connecting with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Greek-Turkish border, TAP will cross Northern Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before coming ashore in Southern Italy to connect to the Italian natural gas network.

The project is currently in its construction phase, which started in 2016.

Once built, TAP will offer a direct and cost-effective transportation route opening up the vital Southern Gas Corridor, a 3,500-kilometer long gas value chain stretching from the Caspian Sea to Europe.

TAP shareholders include BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagás (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

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