The European Commission said on Tuesday it will grant Romanian gas
transmission company Transgaz [BSE:TGN] 179 million euro in support of the
development of an interconnector linking the gas networks of Bulgaria, Romania,
Hungary and Austria.
"This is an important development for the EU gas market as this will
allow gas from the Caspian region and other potential sources, including
liquefied natural gas (LNG), to reach Central Europe," the Commission said
in a press release.
The project envisages the development of a natural gas transmission network
with a total length of 550 km and a capacity of 1.5 billion cubic metres per
year toward Bulgaria and 4.4 billion cubic metres per year toward Hungary. Its
due for completion in 2019 and its cost is estimated at 560 million euro ($610
million), data from Transgaz website showed.
The EU financing is part of a 217 million euro package in support of key
trans-European energy infrastructure projects, mainly in Central and
Southeastern Europe. In total, 15 projects were selected following a call for
proposals under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), an EU funding programme
for infrastructure. The selected projects will increase energy security and
help end the isolation of member states from EU-wide energy networks, while
contributing to the completion of a European energy market and the integration
of renewables into the electricity grid, the Commission said in a press
release.
(1 euro =
4.5349 Romanian lei)
(SeeNews)