TIRANA (Albania), May 11 (SeeNews) - Construction works on a section of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) gas pipeline project in Albania have been suspended after the remains of an ancient settlement were uncovered near the city of Korca, the project company said.

Construction works at the closed-off area of the discovery are expected to resume within a month, after the relevant institutions conclude their report, TAP said in a statement published on its website on Wednesday. Meanwhile, construction activities along the 215-kilometre long pipeline route in Albania continue to progress in line with the project schedule.

"The rescue, conservation and protection of cultural heritage along the pipeline route is critical to TAP’s construction activities," TAP senior cultural advisor Neil Fairburn said in the statement. "We have carried numerous pre-construction surveys and studies, and put in place a sound approach to ensure we minimise any cultural heritage, environmental and social impact."

After noticing the archaeological finds, the TAP contractor immediately halted the works for clearing the TAP route and contacted Albania's Archaeological Service Agency (ASA), which undertook an assessment of the artefacts, TAP said. Currently a team of archaeologists is carrying out a rescue excavation.

"According to the preliminary assessment undertaken by TAP Cultural Heritage experts, this is an open-air settlement spanning from the early Iron Age (10th – 9th centuries BC) to the late Roman period (4th – 6th centuries AD), as suggested by the wealth of ceramics recovered at the site. During the Middle Ages (XII – XV century) the site was used as a cemetery, overlying the original site," TAP said

The gas pipeline project is designed to carry Azeri gas to Europe via Albania. It is expected to bring Albania total investments of some 1.5 billion euro.

The pipeline's initial capacity will be 10 billion cubic metres of gas per year, which could double further on.

TAP’s shareholding structure comprises BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagás (16%) and Axpo (5%).