The EBRD, EIB and IFC may provide a potential EUR 4bn package to the Nabucco project for natural gas transportation from Central Asia and Middle East to Europe, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International, the company set up to run the project, said on its website. The three financial institutions, Nabucco shareholders and Nabucco Gas Pipeline International signed a mandate letter yesterday (Sep 6), thus marking the start of the appraisal process of the Nabucco project, which is a required step for the financing. The potential financing package will consist of up to EUR 2bn from the EIB, up to EUR 1.2bn from the EBRD (up to EUR 600mn to be syndicated with commercial banks) and up to around EUR 800mn from the IFC (up to EUR 400mn to be syndicated with commercial banks). The appraisal of the project will comprise a thorough assessment of its business, social and environmental aspects. The 3,300-km pipeline will have a transit capacity of 31bn cubic metres of natural gas per year (to be reached in 2018, with an option for an increase to 65bn cubic metres) and is expected to meet 5-10% of the European demand. The latest investment estimates for Nabucco, prepared in the summer of 2008, pointed to total costs of EUR 7.9bn. First supplies should be expected at the end of 2014. Construction works are to start at the end of next year. The national natural gas suppliers of Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Turkey as well as the German company RWE hold equal stakes in Nabucco Gas Pipeline International.