The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, a Greek measure of €106 million to complete the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Alexandroupolis.

The Greek authorities notified the Commission of the plan to grant additional aid to Gastrade SA, the company promoting and operating the new terminal. The measure aims to enable the beneficiary to complete the construction of the terminal as planned by the end of 2023. The aid will take the form of a direct grant.

The Commission assessed the measure under EU State aid rules, and found it necessary and appropriate to enable the beneficiary to continue the project as planned.

When approving the initial public support, the Commission already considered that the project is necessary to secure natural gas supplies for Greece and the South East Europe region and that it will contribute to the REPowerEU strategic objective of achieving energy supply diversification and ending dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

It is recalled that in June 2021, the Commission had approved state aid of the Greek State, amounting to 166.7 million euros for the construction of the new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Alexandroupolis, which includes a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU ) for the receipt, storage and regasification of LNG (which will be complemented by permanent offshore facilities such as a mooring system and vertical pipelines), as well as a subsea and onshore natural gas transmission pipeline system that will connect the FSRU to the National Natural Gas System of Greece (ESFA).