The government on Wednesday approved a higher state guarantee for a loan that United Bulgarian Bank gave to Bulgartransgaz for the Vertical Gas Corridor, the government information service said. The principal on the loan rises by €25m to €127,258,370.
The bank gave the loan on 12 September 2025. The deadline for drawing the money is extended to 31 December 2026. Both changes depend on the guarantee agreement: without it, the principal cannot be raised and the drawdown period cannot be extended.
The extra money will pay to finish two corridor projects: raising gas transmission capacity at the Kulata/Sidirokastro interconnection point, for flows from Greece to Bulgaria, and at the Negru Voda/Kardam interconnection point, for flows from Bulgaria to Romania.
Energy minister Iva Petrova told a Greek news outlet two days ago that the corridor strengthens Southeast Europe and opens new energy routes. She said capacity from Greece to Bulgaria has grown by about 30% this year and now stands at 93 gigawatt hours a day.
The Vertical Gas Corridor is a joint project of the gas transmission operators of Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine and Moldova. It aims to make natural gas supplies in Southeast and Central Europe more secure and to bring them from more sources.