The Greek authorities have announced the start of construction of a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the city of Alexandroupolis. It is expected that this project will make it possible to quickly replace gas supplies from Russia, and in the long term it will make it possible to make significant changes in the energy sector of Europe. The construction was launched in the presence of major European politicians: Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Kirill Petkov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Aleksandar Vucic, President of Serbia and others. The Greek Prime Minister said at the ceremony: «The first important step towards Europe's energy transition is the independent Alexandroupolis natural gas system – a new energy gateway for Greece and the Balkans, Eastern Europe.» The terminal in Alexandroupolis with a length of 28 km is a floating regasification plant with a storage capacity of 155-170 thousand cubic meters of LNG and a maximum regasification capacity of 22.7 million cubic meters per day. The terminal should be operational by the end of 2023, its capacity will be 5.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. During the construction, the terminal will be supplemented by the Greek-Bulgarian gas pipeline under construction – gas will flow from Greece to Bulgaria, and from there to Serbia, Northern Macedonia, Romania, Hungary and Ukraine.
