October 9, 2015 [Reuters] - Croatian liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal developer LNG Hrvatska has extended a deadline for investors to express interest in building a terminal in the northern Adriatic to Dec. 31 as part of the country's drive for energy independence.
The company gave no reason for the deferral and did not say what level of interest it had received so far.
The previous deadline was Dec 15. The terminal on the island of Krk is also part of wider European efforts to reduce its reliance on Russian energy supplies and gained new importance following the cancellation of the South Stream project.
Croatia hopes to complete the terminal by mid-2019.
The terminal is aimed at receiving, storing and re-gasifying LNG, with a nominal capacity of 6 billion cubic metres. It is expected to entail an investment of around 600 million euros ($653 million).
The call-for-equity procedure has three phases, starting with the filing of expressions of interest in bidding.
Upon the receipt of an expression of interest, LNG Hrvatska will send a request for qualification to applicants, including a detailed financial and technical information that needs to be provided by the applicants in order to have access to a virtual data room in the final stage of the procedure.
The Croatian government has declared the project to be of strategic interest, which should simplify the procedures for obtaining location and construction permits.
