Pafos Live 9 August 2024
In the first week of September, the Republic of Cyprus is expected to respond to the European Commission, regarding the €101 million with which the Commission financed the terminal in Vasilikos and which it is asking to be returned, Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, George Papanastasiou, said on Thursday.
Asked after the meeting of the House Standing Committee on Trade whether the Republic of Cyprus has reimbursed the amount requested by the European Commission, Papanastasiou said that the recipient of the €101 million subsidy. it was the Department of Energy. "Of these, €69 million approximately have been paid for the work that has been done. The rest has not been given. The Commission is currently claiming €101m, but has given the Republic of Cyprus the opportunity to explain a few things. This explanation will be given by the first week of September," he said. He noted that "nothing has been returned and nothing has expired", as the Ministry of Energy will explain to the Commission what happened, in an effort to avoid the withdrawal of this aid.
Asked about the next steps regarding the terminal, the Minister said that now ETYFA must record the materials that are both on board and at the pier and in what condition they are.
As he said, it is not possible at the moment, based on a legal opinion, to use existing subcontractors for the continuation of work. "An offer should be organized in the sense of urgency to express interest from various companies to complete it," he said, adding that it would take some time to do so.
Regarding the ship, owned by ETYFA, which is still in Shanghai, the Minister said that ETYFA's effort has focused on owning the ship and transferring the ship to Vasilikos. "There is currently consultation between the two parties, ETYFA and the Chinese consortium, on the delivery and departure of the ship from Shanghai," he said.
He noted that "we know where it is and what is on it and how complete it is. There are the engineers who monitored the development of the ship and the engineers who know exactly what is in Vasilikos. With this knowledge, we as the Ministry of Energy will proceed to complete the project. We have stated many times that this company should not have taken the project, for the reasons that have come to light," he reiterated.
Asked about the attribution of responsibility for the issue, Papanastasiou said that the Ministry of Energy has focused on the completion of the terminal. "If there are any responsibilities, the President of the Republic has stated it in very clear language about what is to come," he said, adding that "instead of going into the past, I suggest that we look to the future, and the future is that Cyprus needs gas immediately, because it is the only way to reduce the cost of conventional electricity production."
