The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering a sovereign-guaranteed loan of up to EUR 98.6 million in favour of NOMAGAS (licenced gas transmission system operator (TSO)), APA-Economics reports citing the EBRD.

The loan proceeds would be used for construction of 100% hydrogen ready natural gas interconnection pipeline with Greece (66km; interconnection) and two natural gas transmission pipelines, Gostivar to Kicevo (34km; Section 1) and Sveti Nikole to Veles (28km; Section 2) in North Macedonia.

“The investments will supply gas to North Macedonia. This enables an accelerated transition away from coal and towards renewable energy by decommissioning existing coal fired Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) by 2030.

The Project is also 100% hydrogen ready and does not prevent the entry of low carbon solutions into the end use markets.

The Project facilitates the diversification of gas supply to North Macedonia through the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (“TAP”) and LNG terminals in Greece, also p
roviding possibility to supply neighbouring Serbia,” EBRD notes.

It is noted that the total cost of the project is EUR 140,190,000.00, and the volume of the loan provided by the EBRD is EUR 98,590,000.00. The loan is expected to be approved on April 24, 2024.

Note that North Macedonia is among the countries interested in importing Azerbaijani gas.

Recall that the Azerbaijani gas is transported to Europe via Trans Adriatic Pipeline. On December 31, 2021, the commercial transportation of “blue fuel” through the gas pipeline in the 878-kilometer section of the Southern Gas Corridor began.

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline, which is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor project, will initially transport 10 bcm of gas produced within the framework of the Shah Deniz-2 project to Europe. This pipeline extends till the south of Italy by passing through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea. The pipeline’s potential allows doubling its transmission capacity to 20 bcm per year.

Source: Azeri-Press news agency