September 2011, Vol. 238 No. 9

Projects

Polands Gas System Gets Vital Boost

The Luxembourg-based European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending PLN $600 million (some EUR 150 million) for construction of two sections of the natural gas transmission system in northwest and central Poland.

The project will help Poland’s energy sector contribute to the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region in the energy and environment areas.

The EIB loan will enable better usage of gas storage facilities and improve gas transmission from the planned LNG terminal at the Baltic Sea port of Swinoujscie. The upgrading and expansion of the gas transmission system will provide the supply needed to meet domestic demand for gas, which will replace less efficient and more polluting sources of energy.

The project involves construction of two high-pressure sections of gas transmission pipeline with a total length of 441 km: from Szczecin to Gdansk and Rembelszczyzna to Gustorzyn, including corresponding compressor stations and associated works. This will extend gasification in regions of Poland with a limited gas supply.

The operator Gazoci?gów Przesy?owych Gaz-System S.A. is the borrower of the EIB loan and the promoter of this project, which is scheduled to be implemented in early 2014. The EIB is the long-term lending bank of the European Union.