Bulgaria gets backing for Nabucco

SOFIA, Bulgaria, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- The European Investment Bank agreed to help Bulgaria build its section of the Nabucco natural gas pipeline, the country's prime minister said.

Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said after meeting with EIB officials that he had 100 percent of the funding needed to build the pipeline through his country, the Sofia Echo news agency reports.

The Nabucco consortium announced in September the signing of a mandate letter from the EIB, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank to back the project.

The EIB will commit around $2.5 billion, the EBRD around $1.5 billion and the World Bank roughly $1 billion for the pipeline. The European Commission set aside $256 million for the $11 billion project.

Europe aims to break the Russian stranglehold on the regional energy sector with Nabucco. The project had faced difficulties in securing supplies from non-Russian suppliers, though European leaders were able to make headway with a memorandum of understanding with Baku for Azeri gas supplies.

Nabucco would run through Turkey to Austria, crossing Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. The route closely follows Russia's plans for South Stream, considered a rival to Nabucco.