October 2013, Vol. 240 No. 10
Projects
TAP Begins Land Easement And Acquisition
The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) has authorized its contractors to start surveys for collecting detailed information on the landowners living along the pipeline corridor to complement existing data.
The goal is to identify rightful landowners, establish property boundaries and evaluate the affected properties. TAP’s land easement and acquisition (LEA) process is designed to acquire access rights to land in order to establish access for the pipeline.
TAP will require temporary access to land for the construction strip where the pipeline will be buried and permanent access to land for installations such as compressor stations, block valve stations, etc. Following construction, TAP will also require land easements for the pipeline corridor and safety zones.
TAP has hired Royal HaskoningDHV (RHDHV) as its contractor for LEA activities. RHDHV is an international engineering and project management service provider and consultancy based in The Netherlands.
In 2014 TAP plans to enter into agreements with landowners regulating how the access to land can be granted. RHDHV will be contacting all affected landowners in the next months and will mobilize a team of 200 staff members to carry out LEA activities in Greece, Albania and Italy.
TAP will transport natural gas from the giant Shah Deniz II field in Azerbaijan to Europe. The 870-km pipeline will connect with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near the Turkish-Greek border, cross Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in southern Italy.
TAP’s routing can facilitate gas supply to several southeastern European countries, including Bulgaria, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and others. Via Italy it will be able to provide multiple opportunities for further transport of Caspian natural gas to some of the largest European markets such as Germany, France, UK, Switzerland and Austria. The project is expected to be completed by 2019.
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