Croatia gave the green light to the construction of an LNG terminal on the island of Krk. Namely, the country passed a law last week, enabling the construction, which will be partly funded by the EU.
According to Reuters, the terminal, which will be built on the island of Krk in the northern Adriatic Sea, is considered as an attempt by the European Union to diversify away from Russian gas imports.
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The project will consist of two stages. Firstly a floating terminal will be built, followed by an onshore facility.
LNG Hrvatska, the company behind the project, informed that the cost of the floating terminal will be 250 million euros, while its capacity will ensure its profitability.
The EU will provide 101.4 million euros for the project, with the remainder being financed from equity and loans.
The terminal aims to supply gas to countries in eastern and central Europe, which depend heavily on Russian gas.
The law was supported by 77 lawmakers out of 151. Before the vote, lawmakers that were opposed to the project urged the parliament to reject it due to environmental concerns, with some questioning its profitability as they supported that it may put Croatia’s tourism at risk.
Responding to the objections, the energy and environment ministry noted that the terminal will not endanger neither the environment nor the tourism.
