On Tuesday, Lithuanian gas transmission company Amber Grid and the European Commission's Innovation and Networks Executive Agency (INEA) signed the updated support agreement, which raises the EU support for GIPL construction for Lithuania from 55 mln euros to 58 mln euros, while the project deadline is moved to the end of 2021.
"The increase in support has to do with the fact that the project is changing on the Polish side. It is becoming shorter and the Polish share of costs is declining, therefore, the Lithuanian side is receiving additional support," Danas Janulionis, head of strategic planning at Amber Grid, told.
In his words, the Polish operator Gaz-System should complete the study by mid-2017 to specify the length of the route in Poland. According to preliminary calculations, it should shrink from 357 km to 310 km. In Janulionis' words, the route in Lithuania remains unchanged at 177 km, and the value remains at the same level.
Last September, Poland said that, due to environmental requirements, it was planning to change the route of its section of the pipeline and move the starting point from the Rembelszczyzna compressor station to the Holowczyce compressor station, which is near the border with Belarus and is closer to Lithuania.
It was estimated earlier that the GIPL project would cost 558 mln euros in total, including 136 mln euros in Lithuania.
