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Romania adopts law declaring Nabucco a â€˜Project of National Interest and Public Utilityâ€™

05 June 2013 12:55 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev – APA-Economics. The law concerning measures necessary to develop the Nabucco Natural Gas Pipeline has been promulgated by the President of Romania, Traian Basescu, qualifying the Nabucco Project as being of national interest and public utility in Romania, Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH told APA-Economics.

The law addresses and clarifies measures needed in diverse fields relevant to the implementation of the NABUCCO project: environmental, regulatory, land ownership and access, as well as other technical issues. The so-called ‘Nabucco Special Law’ further consolidates the regulatory framework surrounding the Nabucco Project. The law was adopted by the Romanian parliament on 21 May this year.

Reinhard Mitschek, CEO, NABUCCO Gas Pipeline International GmbH, said that Romania is a key partner in the success of the Nabucco pipeline, as the committee meeting concluded in Bucharest on 21 May demonstrated. We welcome the approval of this law, which further demonstrates the political support, and the watertight legal and regulatory framework enjoyed by the project. Nabucco continues to move ahead in terms of legal and political support, as well as in terms of technical and engineering works. Romania is also well on the way to becoming the third country to complete Environmental permitting for the project, after Hungary and Bulgaria. We continue to work to ensure that when Caspian gas is ready to be transported to Europe, Nabucco is ready to receive it".

The NABUCCO National Company in Romania has also announced the successful completion of public hearings for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) permitting procedure in the country. The public hearings were organized between 8-15 May in 24 settlements located in the five counties crossed by the Romanian section of the Nabucco pipeline.

The public hearings were organized by NABUCCO Romania (NNC) together with the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and local Environmental Protection Agencies and with the support of the local public administration of the 24 settlements.