LNG terminal given go-ahead and financing

Cyprus Public Natural Gas Company (DEFA) said that the Natural Gas Infrastructure Company of Cyprus (ETYFA) has issued a Notice to Proceed to the consortium that was awarded the construction works for the Cyprus LNG import terminal at Vasilikos (Vasiliko) Port.

European Investment Bank EIB) financing of €150m was approved on 11 June. Other funding includes a €101m grant allocated through the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and €43m provided as equity capital by the Cyprus Electricity Authority. The remaining amount will be financed by borrowing on favourable terms.

In April, DEFA applied to the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) for a permit for the operation of the LNG facility.

In March, ETYFA published a tender to find an Owner’s Engineers (OE) for the provision of services covering the management of the EPCOMA and the initial operations of the LNG import terminal infrastructure. The proposal submission deadline was 30 April.

The project at Vasilikos Port will include an LNG floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), a jetty, mooring facilities, a pipeline on the jetty and other onshore and offshore related infrastructure.

As part of efforts to secure an uninterrupted supply of natural gas, initially for power generation and then for other uses, DEFA has planned and launched the work for the construction and development of a transmission and distribution natural gas pipeline network.

Initially, this network will consist of three pipelines that will supply the three power plants of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) in Vasilikos, Dhekelia and Moni.