Energy, Commerce and Industry Minister Yiorgos Papanastasiou said the Cypriot government intends to launch two new tenders in the near future to complete the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Vasiliko.
The first will be for works on the quay and onshore facilities where the floating storage and regasification unit will be moored. And the second will be the purchase of a floating regasification unit, Fsru, which will convert the LNG back into gaseous form so that it can be fed into the Vasiliko power plant to generate electricity. Incidentally, the government expects to acquire the Fsru as a temporary solution and reserve, as the vessel contracted to a consortium of China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co and Metron Energy Applications SA is still docked in Shanghai.
Papanastasiou said that the harmonisation of the terms of the new tenders was proceeding at a "rapid pace" and that the process had been approved by the Ministry of Finance. Regarding the Prometheus ship in Shanghai, the minister said it was unlikely that it would be handed over to Cyprus by a Chinese-led consortium. He added that it was not yet known who exactly was preventing the ship from sailing to the island. Papanastasiou reiterated the Cypriot government's determination to proceed with the project despite the cancellation of the contract with the Chinese consortium.
He added that the Natural Gas Infrastructure Company (Etyfa) would soon issue two tenders.
The project has to be completed because it is very important for importing natural gas and reducing the cost of conventional electricity," Papanastasiou said.
Etyfa, as the owner of the project, is exploring the next steps to finalise the project with the support of the Cypriot Ministry of Energy. Regarding the floating plant, Papanastasiou said that discussions are continuing on all fronts "as the vessel belongs to Etyfa but is not actually in its possession at the moment".
The ship must be owned by Etyfa so that it can use it to import natural gas to the terminal," he explained.
For his part, AKEL party secretary general Stefanos Stefanou said that the longer this "scandal" is discussed, the more questions arise, making it difficult for the project to go ahead.
The scandal surrounding the contract awarded by the previous government is really huge and adds to a long list of other scandals,' he said.
The leader of the Diko party, Nicholas Papadopoulos, said it was 'the worst deal the Republic of Cyprus has ever entered into' and pointed to the huge political responsibility for the 'fiasco' which had left the island nation 'completely defenceless'. He added that the people of Cyprus had already paid €245 million for the deal, but "we have neither a berth nor a floating facility". Finally, MP and Disy committee chairman Kyriacos Hadjiyanni called on the state to enter into negotiations with the consortium despite the "attack" it is under.
It should be recalled that following the cancellation of the Chinese consortium's contract, the European Commission demanded that Cyprus repay almost €69 million in subsidies paid for the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Vasiliko.