Papanastasiou: Plan B for the terminal, a ‘divorce’ from the Chinese consortium has not been ruled out

A Plan B, without excluding the termination of the Vasilikos terminal project with the consortium from China that is implementing it, is being prepared by the government.

The alternative plan is being created in anticipation of the outcome of the ongoing efforts aimed at overcoming disagreements involving the project. These have arisen as a result of the consortium claiming compensation for the delays in the completion of the terminal at the location of Vasilikos.

In his statements after the Council of Ministers meeting, Minister of Energy George Papanastasiou stated that efforts are being made in the direction of the consortium itself, along with as political efforts, because the consortium is from China and the company that manages the project is state-owned.

"Efforts are being made and continue, but they have not ended up anywhere and essentially we have also prepared a Plan B, which if these efforts do not end up somewhere that satisfies the Republic of Cyprus, essentially (Natural Gas Infrastructure Company) ETYFA and by extension the Republic of Cyprus, we will have to make some bold decisions. The termination of the specific project with the specific consortium is not excluded. At the moment there is nothing to announce,” Papanastasiou underlined.

The Minister of Energy also noted that the Vasilikos terminal should be completed, pointing out that the reduction of the cost of conventional power generation would come through the Vasilikos terminal.

"And the reason," he pointed out, "is because it is the first infrastructure that will import natural gas into Cyprus. In addition to the price of natural gas, which now happens to be quite low, there is also the reduction of pollutants, where there is a cost that is passed on to the final consumer."

Also read: Focus is on completion of Vasilikos terminal, Energy Minister says

(Source: InBusinessNews)