The Nabucco project for transportation of natural gas from Central Asia and Middle East to Europe remains priority for the EC and all the main decisions concerning its financing should be made by the end of the year, according to a statement of the spokesperson of EC energy commissioner Marlene Holzner for the state-run news agency BTA. The deadline may be extended by no more than 3 months in order to be used the granted from the EU aid of EUR 200mn as part of the economic recovery programme. Holzner also said that gas supplies may start from Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iraq, while Iran was no longer considered as an option due to political factors. The 3,300-km Nabucco 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 German company RWE hold equal stakes in Nabucco Gas Pipeline International.