First leg of Baltic Pipe to be ready in 2020 - Naimski

The first leg of the Baltic Pipe scheme will be ready in 2020, the government plenipotentiary for strategic energy infrastructure Piotr Naimski said. “The time allowed for the construction of the gas pipeline is two years, the first pipe will be laid underwater in 2020. The schedule was planned in advance, with some additional surplus because the Baltic Sea is restless and it may turn out that the season that allows construction can be shortened,” he explained. In his opinion, Baltic Pipe is an important project for Poland’s state interest, but it is also important for the CEE region. “Our region is in some sense isolated, The recipients in Poland, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, and the Balkans are surrounded by a network of one supplier, Gazprom,” Naimski added. The pipeline is expected to have a capacity of 10 bcm annually. It will connect Poland with gas deposits on the North Sea. The project will cost between €1.6 – 2.2 billion and could become operational by 2022.