Land-based natural gas terminal is the primary aim

Commerce, Industry and Tourism Minister Antonis Michaelides said that the government is promptly proceeding with the appointment of experts who will prepare the documents for the tenders and the competition for the supply of natural gas using the offshore technology.
“With this way, we are buying hope that we will be able to secure the necessary amounts of natural gas and create the terminal to store it for a period of up to five years which is essential until a land-based terminal is constructed”, he added.
The construction of a land-based terminal continues to be the primary aim, Michaelides said, addressing a press conference where the annual report of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus for 2006 was presented
On his part, EAC chairman Charilaos Stavrakis, said a land-based terminal is both technically and economically the best solution therefore the government should promote the soonest this “great development project”.
He also said that in order to protect this investment, the natural gas market should be declared as an emerging market.
President Tassos Papadopoulos had announced earlier this month that the government will take all necessary steps to help set up a company for the import of natural gas.
This move, he had said, is linked to the possibility of obtaining permission to declare our market an emerging market.
Referring to the results of EAC for 2006, Stavrakis said the authority had a net profit of CYP22.6 million and after the payment of CYP7.5 million in dividends to the government, the profit amounted to CYP15.1 million.
He also said expenditure for electrification purposes in the next ten years would reach CYP1.13 billion.
At the same time, he said that the authority is taking into consideration in its future planning, the need to restructure and strengthen the system in the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus, in the event the Cyprus issue is solved.