Lithuanian Govt set to expand the port of Klaipeda, eyes LNG terminal
The Lithuanian government has decided to expand the port of Klaipeda by 270 hectares in order to facilitate its development, the Ministry of Transport of Lithuania said.
It is planned that the island Kiaules Nugara in the Curonian Lagoon (Kuršiu Marios) will be included in the port’s boundaries. The port expansion plan will make it possible to implement the project of building a liquefied natural gas terminal, the Ministry said.
The EU Commission is ready to provide financial support for the construction of an LNG terminal in the Baltic countries. The place has not been selected as yet. The LNG terminal project will enable the country to buy gas at lower prices from multiple suppliers. The Lithuanian authorities will have to solve a number of infrastructure problems to ensure smooth operation of the future terminal.
State-run Port of Klaipeda, the northernmost ice-free port on the East coast of the Baltic Sea, is the largest Lithuanian transport hub, connecting sea and inland traffic lanes. There are 17 stevedore companies, shipyards and other operators at the port, providing a broad range of services. In 2010, Port of Klaipeda cargo throughput increased year-over-year by 10.9%, to 31,27m tons.