The completion of the Bourgas- Alexandroupolis oil pipeline project will be beneficial in strategic, political and financial terms, Economy and Energy Minister Roumen Ovcharov told private channel Nova TV.

In the past week representatives of Bulgaria, Russia and Greece signed the agreement for the long-awaited project.

Only the first step has been made, Ovcharov said, and now participants in the project had to discuss specific steps to be undertaken.

Europe and the US were going to benefit from the project apart from the three countries directly involved, Ovcharov said.

Only companies participating in the project will provide funding for it, Ovcharov said. The state budget will not allocate funds for the Bourgas- Alexandroupolis construction. Two companies will represent Bulgaria, he said.

Bourgas- Alexandroupolis will transport Russian oil through the Bulgarian port of Bourgas to the Greek Alexandroupolis. The new project will enable avoiding traffic through the busy routes in Turkey.