Cyprus Lays Foundation of LNG Terminal

Cyprus has held a foundation-laying ceremony for an LNG import terminal, hailing the project as its largest ever energy investment.

""I would say that this day is a really historic landmark, since it officially marks the materialisation of an ambitious project of strategic importance and of national dimensions," Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades said at the ceremony on July 9.

With a budget of €289mn ($326mn), the project is being developed by a joint venture between China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering, a subsidiary of China's CNPC, and Greece's Metron, under a contract awarded in December. 

The LNG terminal will bolster Cyprus' energy security and reduce its emissions by 30%, by enabling the country to replace diesel and fuel oil-fired power plants with gas-based generation.

Cyprus has made several previous attempts at advancing the project, but each time has failed to secure necessary funding. Last year it secured an EU grant of €101mn, however, followed by a €100mn loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Anastasiades said he would like in inaugurate the terminal before the end of his second and final five-year presidential term, in 2023.