Baltic Connector Oy has celebrated the beginning of the construction phase of Balticconnector in Inkoo, on the compressor station work site.
Balticconnector is a gas pipeline that connects Finland and Estonia and links the Finnish and Baltic gas markets, enabling their integration with the EU’s common energy market.
The total cost of the project is EUR 250 million. In August 2016, the European Commission granted funding of EUR 187.5 million to the project, covering 75% of the project’s funding.
“ Today we celebrate a project that has made solid progress and is one of Europe’s several ongoing energy projects designed to help us improve Europe’s internal gas markets. The completion of Balticconnector and other gas infrastructure projects ensures that Finland and the Baltic countries are genuinely integrated with the EU’s common energy market. This connection opens the gas market for competition, increasing security of supply and energy security in the whole of Europe,” said Jyrki Katainen , vice-president of the European Commission.
Baltic Connector Oy is responsible for the Finnish part of the project, and Elering for the Estonian part. Both companies are wholly owned by the Finnish and the Estonian states.
The offshore Balticconnector pipeline is constructed from Inkoo in Finland to Paldiski in Estonia. The Balticconnector project will comprise the construction of pipelines, stations, and systems to connect the existing gas networks in Finland and Estonia.
21 kilometers of the pipeline will be constructed in Finland, 77 kilometers under the sea, and 55 kilometers in Estonia.
The gas pipeline is bi-directional, and its transmission capacity is 7.2 million cubic meters of gas per day.
“I would like to thank everyone who made it possible for the project to progress the construction phase and the people who have gathered here today to celebrate this milestone with us. Gas has a significant role in the European energy policy, and it is the first step in reducing emissions when abandoning the use of coal. Hereby, we have once again taken a step towards a carbon-neutral society as part of the common European gas market, ” said Herkko Plit , CEO and president of Baltic Connector Oy.