North Macedonia intends to acquire 10 % stake in a project for the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Alexandroupoli in northern Greece, by investing between 6.5 and 7.5 million euros, said North Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.
PM Zaev also said that North Macedonia will acquire 25 % stake in the project for the construction of a gas-fired power plant in the vicinity of the terminal. He added that it is expected that the construction of gas interconnection with Greece will start in 2021, for which a 14 million euros grant through the Western Balkans Investment Framework is already secured. The cost of the project is estimated to 54 million euros.
In October, the Government of North Macedonia said that it is considering Greece’s offer of co-ownership, through the state-owned power utility ESM, of an 800 MW gas-fired power plant to be built in northern Greece near the town of Alexandroupoli, which would produce two and a half times more energy than the amount of the energy deficit that North Macedonia currently has. It also said that North Macedonia is suspending planned participation in the project for the construction of Bulgaria’s second nuclear power plant Belene.
The Alexandroupoli LNG project, for which Gastrade has obtained a license in 2011, envisages the construction of LNG storage facility with the capacity of 170,000 cubic meters, which could supply 17 million cubic meters of gas per day to Greek gas network. With the construction of gas interconnection between Greece and Bulgaria, the investors are considering options to supply natural gas to the entire Balkan region. However, the project has been removed from the list of EU Projects of Common Interest (PCI) for 2017. The consortium for the construction of the terminal should comprise of Gastrade (20 %), Gaslog (20 %), Greek Public Gas Corporation DEPA (20 %), now through DEPA Trade, Bulgarian Energy Holding BEH (20 %) and Greek gas transmission system operator DESFA (20 %).
