The agreement with the LNG terminal contractor signed

Photo of the article The agreement with the general contractor of the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście was signed in the presence of the Minister of Treasury, Mr Aleksander Grad, on constructing the Terminal of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in Świnoujście, by and between the investor: the Polskie LNG S.A. company and the contractor: the consortium of Saipem S.p.A. (Italy) - Saipem SA (France) - Techint Compagnia Technica Internationale S.p.A. (Italy) - Snamprogetti Canada Inc. (Canada) - PBG SA (Poland) - PBG Export Sp. z o.o. (Poland).
The ceremony of signing the agreement was participated by the diplomatic corpus representatives, MPs, senators, representatives of the government administration, banks and the media. On behalf of the investor, the contract was signed by the President of the Board of LNG S.A., Zbigniew Rapciak, while the signatures on the agreement were affixed by:  Pierre Berger from the Saipem Group, Paolo Bigi, representing Techint and Tomasz Woroch from Grupa PBG as the contractor's representatives.
The agreement value amounts to PLN 1,9646,559,860, gross (PLN 2,415,213,000, net).
"Signing this agreement, and the preceding passing of an appropriate bill which regulates and simplifies the procedures involved in the terminal construction, obtaining an environmental decision and a construction permit prove that the many years of talking on the need for  diversification is becoming reality right now. Constructing the LNG Terminal shall provide Poland with greater independence in the selection of natural gas suppliers, since thanks to it we shall be able to receive gas over the sea and fulfil the contracts concluded with Qatar. The investment being carried out by us is the first of this type in our part of Europe" - said Aleksander Grad, the Minister of State Treasure. The objective of the consortium is to construct an LNG terminal in Świnoujście, together with delivering it for occupancy, by 30th June 2014.
The companies included in the winning consortium have the experience already gained with constructing several LNG terminals in the world, including but not limited to: Canaport LNG (Canada), Freeport (USA), Terminal Guandong (China), Pyeongtaek LNG (South Korea)., Zeebrugge (Belgium),  Bilbao (Spain), Marmara LNG (Turkey), Fos Cavaou LNG (France). "Thanks to the LNG terminal we shall be able to gain in the future even up to 7.5bn m3 of gas over the sea, which shall approximately account for 50% of the annual demand of Poland for gas. The LNG Terminal does not mean just energetic independence, but also new professional development opportunities. Its execution has created an incentive to form the European Centre for LNG Training in Szczecin and Świnoujście which is going to train top class specialists, not just for the needs of the Polish gasport," said Zbigniew Rapciak, the President of the Polskie LNG S.A. "I would like to thank all the companies for participating in the proceeding and for professional offer preparation. I would like to thank all the fellow employees and partners for their involvement in the execution of this project," added Z. Rapciak. 
The construction of the LNG Terminal  has been deemed as a strategic investment for the energetic security of the state by the Government of the Republic of Poland.
The LNG Terminal is going to be raised in Świnoujście, on the grounds designated for the harbour development. It is going to allow for receiving up to 5bn m3 of natural gas annually, with a possibility of its extension up to 7.5bn m3.
The construction of the LNG Terminal in Swinburne is the first investment of this type not only in Poland, but also in our part of Europe. "The terminal for receiving liquefied natural gas in Świnoujście is one of the major investments of the broad investment plan with regard to the development of gas infrastructure in Poland executed by GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. The Agreement signed today completes the formal preparatory stage and commences the next development phase. The construction of the new LNG Terminal and new gas pipes and cross-border connections executed by our company will allow in the future other CEE countries to have access to the global liquefied natural gas market with the use of the Polish streaming infrastructure," said Jan Chadam, the President of the Board of GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. - the company which coordinates the whole investment.
Commencing the construction of the terminal is scheduled for the second half of 2010, and its completion - on 30th June 2014.
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Polskie LNG S.A. is an investment vehicle established to construct and exploit the liquefied natural gas LNG terminal in Świnoujście. The Polska LNG company was set up in 2007 as an element of the strategy aimed at diversifying gas supplies to Poland. It is owned by Operator Gazociągów Przesyłowych GAZ-SYSTEM S.A. - a State Treasure Company.
6th August 2009 The Polskie LNG S.A. Company began the procedure of selecting the general contractor for the investment.
By 30th September 8 applications for participation in the proceeding had been submitted by entities encompassing 25 companies from 9 companies
On 9th November 2008 three entities were qualified to the final stage: the consortium of Saipem S.p.A (Italy) - Saipem SA (France) - Techint Compagnia Tecnica Internazionale S.p.A. (Italy) - Snamprogetti Canada Inc. (Canada) - PBG SA (Poland) - PBG Export Sp. z o.o. (Poland); the consortium of Tecnimont S.p.A (Italy) - Polimex Mostostal SA (Poland) - Sofregaz SA (France) - Vinci Consortium Grands Projets Sas (France) - Entrepose Contracting SA (France); the consortium of Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co Ltd. (Korea) - Korea Gas Corporation (Korea) - Daewoo Engineering Company (Korea).
On 4th February 2010 all the three consortia submitted preliminary offers, and on 21st June 2010 - the final offers, including the price offers.
On 24th June 2010 the Polskie LNG S.A. made the selection of the entity which is supposed to build the LNG Terminal in Świnoujście (the General Investment Executor). The proceeding has been won by the consortium of Saipem S.p.A. (Italy) - Saipem SA (France) - Techint Compagnia Technica Internationale S.p.A. (Italy) - Snamprogetti Canada Inc. (Canada) - PBG SA (Poland) - PBG Export Sp. z o.o. (Poland), which submitted the most favourable offer with the lowest total gross price: PLN 2,946,559,860.
The entities participating in the proceeding could file possible appeals by 5th July 2010. No appeal had been submitted.
The proceeding had been conducted pursuant to the Act of 24th April 2009 on the investments with regard to the regasification terminal of liquefied natural gas in Świnoujście (the so-called Special Act). It was prepared in compliance with the rules arising from European directives which assume that orders shall be placed in an honest and transparent manner with respect for the rights of the proceeding participants, in accordance with the terms and conditions of fair competition - in an open, upright, transparent and non-discriminatory procedure.