Odessa-Gdansk oil pipeline edging forward - but without investors as yet

Infrastructure Minister Marek Pol reiterated on Thursday that the government still supports the idea of the planned construction of Odessa-Brody-Gdansk pipeline and would not abandon the project. During a press conference Pol answered questions about why the project has been delayed, saying that work on the business plan continued as both sides want to show investors that the project is more than just a set of vague ideas. The oil pipeline will be a part of a bigger transport corridor for Caspian oil to be sold in Western Europe. As partial fulfillment of the contract the Ukrainians have already constructed 670 km of the pipeline and transshipment terminal in Odessa. However, so far Poland has dragged its feet on the deal with the euro520 million Brody-Plock section of the pipeline still to be built. (Parkiet, p. 1; Rzeczpospolita, p. B4) J.K.