May the 26th, 2022 - Is LNG Terminal Zadar on the cards as Croatia, much like the rest of Europe, continues to reduce its reliance on Russian gas imports? It certainly looks that way.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Ministry of the Economy and Sustainable Development has issued a Decision for the ecological network, which means that Zadar could soon be the next Croatian location drawn onto the gas map of the Adriatic. The decision is now going to remain valid for four years, and the holder of the project is LNG Hrvatska d.o.o. which, through three phases, plans to build a place for gas supply in Zadar's Gazenica, according to Pomorac.

In the first phase of the construction of the would-be LNG Terminal Zadar, as stated in the text of the project, a dock for vessels and a mooring for vessels will be built. One liquefied natural gas tank with a capacity of 3,000 cubic metres, a condensing plant, filling stations for tank wagons with one transshipment point, filling stations for LNG tanks and ISO containers with two transshipment points and filling stations for vehicles powered by liquefied natural gas and compressed natural gas will also all be constructed.

In the second phase of construction, the storage capacity will be raised to 10,500 cubic metres of gas by upgrading the 7,500 cubic metre tank, and then another transshipment point will be made for the tank car and two more for LNG tanks and ISO containers.

In the third and so far final phase of the LNG Terminal Zadar project, the capacity of the tank is planned to be raised to 30,000 cubic metres of gas, and the plant will comply with the highest international standards. A new substation, a control building for the Zadar gas terminal, as well as new areas for traffic and cargo operations are also planned, along with a new drainage and wastewater treatment/management system.

The port is planned to be located at berth 1 of the Gazenica cargo port, and the planned project is located outside of the ecological network, or more precisely, it is a little less than 6 kilometres away from it. This is an area of ​​conservation which is deemed very important for birds in Ravni kotari, which belongs to the area which was placed under ​​special protection back in 2013, in accordance with the Regulation on the Ecological Network (Official Gazette, No. 124/13).

The originally mentioned Decision concluded that the LNG Terminal Zadar will not have any harmful effects on the ecological network, despite the constant presence of man and potential noise pollution. The decision, as such, is enforceable in administrative proceedings.

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