Greece, Italy and Albania are to sign an agreement backing a proposed pipeline to transport natural gas from the Caspian Sea to western Europe.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is to attend the Athens signing ceremony Wednesday, backing the privately-funded venture worth €1.5 billion ($2.02 billion), and known as the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.

The 800-kilometer (500-mile) pipeline system would have an initial annual capacity of 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The venture is run by consortium comprised by Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas, Norway's Statoil and the Swiss-based Axpo group.

Greek Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos will sign the agreement, along with Albanian Finance and Energy Minister Edmond Haxhinasto and Italian Development Minister Corrado Passera, according to a Foreign Ministry statement, while representatives of the Azerbaijani government will also attend the ceremony.