VIENNA - The European Union's Nabucco gas pipeline took a step closer to becoming reality on April 23 when the consortium building it launched the process to find companies to supply the pipe needed for the project.
Nabucco Gas Pipeline International said it formally started the process to find a supplier for "long-lead items" - such as pipes and valves - needed for the 2,060-mile pipeline.
"The pre-qualification for long-lead items is a substantial step towards starting construction at the end of 2011," Nabucco managing director Reinhard Mitschek said.
Nabucco, estimated to cost $10.5 billion (7.9 billion euros), is intended to bring gas from central Asia to southeastern Europe, initially running from Azerbaijan to Ankara in Turkey and then on to Vienna.
The EU sees it as vital to energy security following a number of recent disputes that disrupted supplies of Russian gas to some countries in eastern and central Europe.
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