Decision of the European Commission on partial funding of the gas pipeline between Poland and the Czech Republic
The European Commission decided to grant 10.5 million EUR as a financial assistance to the GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. under the European Energy Programme for Recovery for construction of the gas pipeline connecting the Polish and Czech natural gas transmission system. The gas pipeline between Poland and the Czech Republic is the second connection of our country with the gas system of the European Union. Obtaining of the partial funding under the European Energy Programme for Recovery (EEPR, the so called Recovery Plan) for this project is the result of the joint application of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. and NET4GAS s.r.o. (formerly RWE Transgas NET s.r.o.) – the Czech operator of gas transmission pipelines, filed in 2009. According to the decision, the Polish part of the project was subsidized with the amount of 10.5 million EUR whereas for construction of the gas pipeline on the Czech side of the border there was granted the amount of 3.5 million EUR. The companies received the funding for this project in a full amount commonly applied by them. The purpose of the European Energy Programme for Recovery is to support economic development within the European Union and increase security of supply of energy through implementation of the cross-border infrastructure. “The European policy of construction of interconnectors and an integrated transmission system in the EU is of great importance for the Polish energy security. GAZ-SYSTEM S.A., as a national transmission system operator, participates in the initiatives of the European Union, becoming an important partner in building a common market for natural gas in Central and Eastern Europe”– said John Chadam, the President of the Management Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A.” The gas pipeline between Poland and the Czech Republic will enable the transfer of about 500 million cubic meters of natural gas per year. The project includes the construction of the gas pipeline with a diameter of 500 mm on the route Tranovice-Cieszyn-Skoczów together with construction of metering and settlement system on the Polish side. The Polish section of the gas pipeline with a length of about 21 km will run from the Polish-Czech border in the Cieszyn area where there is planned location of the new entry point into the national transmission system, to the Skoczów area, where incorporation into the existing transmission system will take place. The planned length of the Czech section of the gas pipeline is about 10 km. An important criterion for assessing applications for funding were a progress level of projects and the possibility of their rapid implementation. Construction of the Polish section of the gas pipeline is already under way and will be completed in 2010. After construction of the gas pipeline on the Czech side and a measurement and billing station, the interconnector could be launched at the end of 2011. GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. also expects the issuance by the European Commission of decisions regarding the support of the other projects of the company selected for subsidizing from the means of the Recovery Plan: the project Baltic Interconnection Skanled/Baltic Pipe (50 million EUR) under which there will be partially funded construction of the Compressor Station in Goleniów and the Świnoujście-Szczecin gas pipeline as well as the gas pipeline system expansion project in Lower Silesia (about 14.4 million EUR). The total value of financing investments under the EEPR, applied by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A., amounts to nearly 75 million EUR. *** In addition to the above mentioned investments subsidized by the EEPR, GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. also implements a number of other strategic projects. Up to 2014, the company plans to construct about 1,000 km in total of new gas transmission pipelines, including the gas pipelines: Szczecin-Lwówek, Szczecin-Gdańsk, Włocławek-Gdynia, Rembelszczyzna-Gustorzyn, Gustorzyn-Odolanów, Jeleniów-Dziwiszów, Polkowice-Żary. These projects will be subsidized from the EU Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programme. Under this program, GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. can raise approximately 1.2 billion PLN.
