European Union’s Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA), GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. and Eustream have signed the Grant Agreement for the construction works for the Poland-Slovakia Gas Interconnection - a new cross-border transmission pipeline, of which 59 km is located in Poland and 106 km in Slovakia.
The Grant Agreement, signed on 18 December 2017, allows both Polish and Slovak gas transmission system operators to receive EU financial support under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding instrument in the amount of 107.7 million € (55.2 million € for Eustream and 52.5 million € for GAZ-SYSTEM).
The implementation of the Poland-Slovak gas interconnection, which is an important part of the North South Gas Interconnections in Central Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (NSI East Gas), will contribute to the enhancement of the regional security of supply and integration of the gas markets.
The new 165 km pipeline will allow for diversification of the CEE region gas sources by creating a missing interconnection between the Polish and Slovak gas transmission systems. The project will enable surrounding CEE countries to benefit from the direct access to different gas supply sources from the North, such as fully operational LNG terminals at the Baltic Sea (Świnoujście LNG, Klaipeda LNG via Gas Interconnection Poland – Lithuania – GIPL) and Norway (through the planned Baltic Pipe) as well as from the South, through the Slovakia-Hungary Interconnection. Construction works are planned to begin in the second half of 2018 and will be finalised by the end of 2021.
As explained in the report commissioned by CEEP in 2015 “Paving the way for the Central European North-South Infrastructure Corridor”, the main rationale and strategic vision underlying the proposed construction of north-south gas interconnections – linking the Baltic with the Adriatic and Black Sea regions – is that it would strengthen the entire Central European strategic position by providing an effective energy transmission network, thereby helping to simultaneously meet two key energy challenges facing the EU-11. First, it would increase supply security by allowing for diversification of resources. And secondly, it would improve the region’s overall competitiveness by strengthening the single market in the energy sector.
Source: GAZ-SYSTEM and Eustream (map)