Finland: Hamina LNG terminal construction starts

Estonian energy company, Alexela, and Haminan Energy are kicking off construction of an LNG terminal in Hamina Kotka harbor through their joint venture, Hamina LNG.

The project, valued at €95 million ($106 million), has received a 30 percent investment support from the Finnish government in 2014.

According to a company statement, the first stage of development will include the construction of a 30,000 cubic meters storage tank with receiving, regasification and transshipment facilities. The construction is scheduled for completion in 2020.

The terminal will be connected to the local natural gas distribution network and is also planned to provide natural gas to customers that are not connected to the distribution network.

The facility would include LNG bunkering facility as well as truck loading capacity in order to enable a wider use of liquefied natural gas as fuel.

The two companies intend to add an additional 20,000-cbm storage tank in order to meet possible growing market demand.

The Hamina LNG terminal is part of Alexela’s LNG business strategy in the Baltics and Finland. The company has already made preparations to start the construction of the Paldiski LNG terminal, including the terminal design, environmental impact assessment, a special permit for the use of water and engineering design work for the international turnkey construction procurement.

The final investment decision for the start of construction of the Paldiski LNG terminal is pending because of the ongoing consultations between the Baltic prime ministers and Alexela and Klaipedos Nafta, regarding the EU co-financing of the regional import terminal.