March 2 (SeeNews) - Croatia's first deputy prime minister Tomislav Karamarko revealed on Wednesday that the new government is considering choosing the construction of floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal on the Adriatic island of Krk instead of a land-based facility as previously planned
"At the beginning, the focus will be on assessing the possibility of a floating terminal as it means lower costs and can be operational in two years," Karamarko said in a government statement, following a meeting with U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein who voiced the importance of the project for the entire European region.
In January, Croatia received seven offers from world-renowned companies or funds from the gas and financial sectors interested in developing the LNG terminal.
In August, a month after the launch of the tender, the project company announced that it has decided to proceed with plans to build an on-shore LNG terminal instead of a floating facility.
Karamarko's game-changing news came shortly after the European Investment Bank (EIB) issued a statement saying it is mulling providing a 339 million euro ($367.9 million) loan for the implementation of the project.
The terminal will have a throughput capacity of 6 Gm3/year and will include a tanker jetty to accommodate the LNG carriers, 2 LNG storage tanks with a total storage capacity of up to 360,000 m3 LNG, vaporisers and ancillary equipment, the EIB said.
The planned LNG terminal on Krk - alongside the award of off- and on-shore oil and gas permits and participation in the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline project, is part of efforts to develop Croatia to a regional energy hub.
($=0.923158 euro)