November 21 (SeeNews) - Ukraine is interested in joining as a partner a project for the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on Croatia's island of Krk, the Croatian government said on Monday.
Ukraine is interested in partaking in the project in order to diversify its gas supplies and achieve energy independence, the government said in a statement quoting Ukrainian prime minister Volodymyr Groysman as saying after a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Andrej Plenkovic.
Ukraine stopped importing gas from Russia in 2015 and has since been getting its supplies from Europe.
In June, Croatia's government adopted a decision to speed up the implementation of the first phase of the LNG project which involves the construction of a floating terminal off the coast of the Adriatic island of Krk.
The government said at the time it has obliged all stakeholders involved in the project, including state-owned company LNG Hrvatska, to accelerate the preparation and implementation of the first phase which includes the construction of a floating terminal for storage and regasification of liquefied natural gas. However, since then a snap vote has been held in the country and a new government has taken office.
In January, Croatia's government said it has received seven offers from world-renowned companies or funds from the gas and financial sectors interested in developing the LNG terminal. Also at the time, the European Investment Bank issued a statement saying it is considering providing a 339 million euro ($360.4 million) loan to LNG Hrvatska for the implementation of the project.
($=0.9407 euro)