The location of the headquarters of the International Project Company (IPC), which will run the Bourgas-Alexandroupolis project, will be decided in September, Deputy Regional Development and Public Works Minister Kalin Rogachev said.

Disputes among Bulgaria, Russia and Greece are the main reason for the delay, he told investor.bg.

In mid-July, reports said that a decision on which country the IPC would be registered in “was only days away.”

The company is expected to be registered by the end of 2007, according to Bulgarian news agency BTA.

Bulgaria and Greece insist that a majority vote is necessary for the decision, while Russia, which will control 51 per cent of the pipeline, is hesitating. Bulgarian and Greek firms will hold equal stakes of 24.5 per cent each.

The construction of the 280km oil pipeline, which will connect Bulgaria’s Bourgas to Greece’s Alexandroupolis, is expected to start in the first quarter of 2008 and to be completed by 2010.