The directors of Croatia's gas pipeline operator Plinacro and Slovenia's Geoplin Plinovodi signed in Benkovac, Croatia on Thursday an agreement on the border point of a new interconnection gas pipeline between the two countries, on the future corridor Zlobin–Rupa–Kalce–Jelsane, Plinacro said in a statement.
The Croatian border point of the future interconnection will be Lisac and Slovenia's will be Susak, the statement added.
An environmental impact assessment for the Croatian section of the pipeline has been approved by the Croatian Ministry of Environmental Protection, Physical Planning and Construction and, in accordance with the EPSOO convention and at the initiative of Slovenia's Environmental Protection and Physical Planning Ministry, an assessment was made of the Croatian section's impact in Slovenia.
After the signing of the agreement, the two operators' representatives visited the construction site of the fourth section of the gas pipeline for the Croatian regions of Lika and Dalmatia. The last section, from Benkovac to Dugopolje, is expected to be completed by the end of July 2012, Plinacro said.
Croatia's and Slovenia's gas transport systems were first connected by the Rogatec-Zagreb pipeline in 1978.
The new interconnection is part of Plinacro's development projects and plans for the development of the gas transport system by 2014. It is also one of the projects for which Plinacro received a European Union grant in the amount of EUR 4.68 million, from the Western Balkans Investment Framework. The other projects are the Ionian-Adriatic Gas Pipeline, the LNG RV, and the LNG Evacuation Pipeline Omisalj-Zlobin-Rupa.
