World Bulletin / News Desk

Bulgaria's top energy official said Wednesday that Bulgarians want to benefit from Turkey's energy expertise and organizers will welcome Turkish experts and investors to a conference to be held in Sofia in October.

The 5th Regional Energy Conference: Regional Energy Development and Energy Security will be held Oct. 28-29 in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital city.

"Turkey and Bulgaria have common projects that would benefit both countries," Ivan Hinovski, chairman of the Bulgarian Energy and Mining Forum, told an AA reporter. "These are Trans Adriatic Pipeline, which that would be a natural gas inter-connecter project. And we want to host experts who would like to talk about the shape and infrastructure of the project."

The pipeline will run from the border between Turkey and Greece, near Kipoi. From there it will cross Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea before terminating in Italy. It will be 539 miles (867 kilometers) long, and it is expected provide a new source of gas for Europe. Construction will start in 2016.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said last Thursday he hoped his country would be linked to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline through Turkey and Greece. The opening ceremony for the project will be held Sept. 20-21 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

"We also need to have a Turkish partner who can comment on the Tundja River project from Turkish point of view, in addition to the views of a Bulgarian expert," said Hinovski. He said the participation of Turkish experts would be highly significant in terms of sharing experiences and establishing cooperation between the countries.

Hinovski is also the former president of Bulgarian Energy Holding, a state-owned energy holding company. He said Bulgarians attach great importance to energy cooperation with Turkey.

The Tundja River is a tributary connected to the Maritsa River at Edirne, a city in extreme northwestern Turkey near the Greek and Bulgarian borders. The Tundja River project is a dam planned for the Bulgarian-Turkish border that would generate electricity for both countries and prevent frequent spring floods in the Thrace region.

"We wanted to hear about the progress and structure of renewable energy sector in Turkey and its overall of percentage in Turkey's energy power," Hinovski said.