Gov't declares LNG terminal strategic project

The Croatian government on Thursday declared the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the island of Krk, estimated at EUR 600 million, a strategic investment project for Croatia.

The current law on strategic investment projects makes it possible to expedite all official procedures related to such projects and to treat them as a priority.

The government believes that the LNG terminal is important for the country's economic growth and development and that it will contribute to employment and have a positive impact on the local industry. The project has been aligned with strategic EU and Croatian documents, government officials have said.

The LNG terminal has been estimated at EUR 600 million, and with the cost of gas pipelines and compressor stations included, the total cost exceeds one billion euros. The terminal has also been included in the list of the European Energy Security Strategy.

The LNG Croatia company expects work on the terminal to start in mid-2016 and to last three years.

Croatia annually consumes 2.7 billion cubic metres of natural gas and the capacity of the future terminal is expected to be between four and six billion cubic metres, which is why along with bringing gas supplies to Croatia, it should also serve as a supply route for countries in this region and the EU.

The government today also forwarded to parliament amendments to the Act on Business Infrastructure Improvement.

The Minister of Entrepreneurship and Crafts, Gordan Maras, said that the amendments were designed to define more precisely terms related to enterprise infrastructure such as enterprise zones, enterprise support institutions and the use of state-owned land for building or expanding such zones.

"There are around 400 enterprise zones in Croatia and some of them do not have a single entrepreneur, which is what we wanted to prevent with the proposed amendments," said Maras.

(Hina) rml

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