Plans for the LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) terminal to be built in the seaside town of Swinoujscie, in the North West of Poland close to the German border, finally seem to be making some progress. This is great news for Property Secrets investors who bought in the Platan and Baltic Park developments in Swinoujscie. The terminal will raise the profile of this area considerably and also provide a steady supply of construction worker tenants during the lengthy build phase.

Background

Since 2006 Poland has been in talks with various LNG producers to allow it to diversify its gas supply and reduce its reliance on Russian gas provided by Gazprom.

Poland was caught up in a row between Russia and the Ukraine, which resulted in a reduction of gas supplies to Poland, Hungary and Austria. The Polish government is anxious to avoid a repeat of this and is building an LNG terminal and investigating the possibility of a pipeline from Norway, Ukraine, Denmark or Germany.

The terminal will be constructed at Swinoujscie near Szczecin in the western part of Poland's Baltic coast (West Pomeranian region). The advantages of this placement include the lower costs to receive big ships and freight compared with those in Gdansk, and there are large gas consumers (power station and chemical plant) in the immediate vicinity.

Construction works are due to begin in the second half of 2010, the Polish gas distributor PGNiG hopes to complete construction of the new terminal and bring it onstream by mid-2014.

This will be the first LNG terminal in Central Europe, the terminal will potentially allow receiving and processing LNG from all around the world.

Technical aspects

The new terminal will be expected to initially receive 2.5 billion cubic metres of liquefied gas a year as part of the Polish strategy to limit its dependence on imports from Russia.

The LNG terminal will be fully equipped with unloading jetty for large LNG tankers (with boil off and recondensing facility), two storage tanks and regasification train to produce gas at the correct pressure for the grid. Supply contracts for LNG have yet to be negotiated (in discussion with Algeria's Sonatrach).

The capacity will be enhanced in subsequent expansion phases of the project depending on demand to five billion cubic metres and then to 7.5 billion cubic metres by 2017 or 2018.

'Lately, the preparations for this great investment, managed by Polskie LNG company, have gained pace. The competition for the entity which will build the terminal is underway. 8 consortia made up of 25 companies from 9 countries including Korea, France and Canada have entered the competition. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has declared its readiness to co-finance the project, along with the top 10 banks, which have signed an agreement to support the investment with the amount of 750 million euros. The total amount of the declared funding is 1 billion euros.

"Interest of the largest financial institutions proves the importance of our venture. It is an extremely important investment for the region and its impact on the European energy security is obvious" - the President of Polskie LNG Zbigniew Rapeiak said.

The LNG terminal in Swinoujscie will eventually allow reception of up to 7.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year. It will be a part of the investment called in Polish "gazoport" (marine gas terminal) which will open up opportunities for importing gas to Poland also by new operators and to trans-shipment to customers in the Baltic Sea area. With a large number of potential suppliers and the flexibility provided by marine transport, the Polish and Scandinavian gas market may gain access to deliveries from all around the world. The investment in Swinoujscie also brings new opportunities for expansion of energetic infrastructure and industry in the Western Pomerania region.

Construction of the LNG terminal is not only a matter of erecting a proper structure but also training of competent personnel. Therefore, pursuant to the agreement signed by Polskie LNG with the Szczcein Maritime University, the European LNG Training Centre will be created, which will train specialists to operate this new facility, using four most advanced simulators. Establishing the Centre will give a unique opportunity to gain the qualifications desired by the terminal operators worldwide.

"We want to take advantage of the existing gap in the European market and create a center educating professional personnel for the rapidly growing LNG market in the European Union" - Zbigniew Rapeiak said.

There are 67 regasification ports capable of receiving liquefied natural gas in the world. LNG technology has been proven for over 40 years. This form of natural gas supply represents 25% of global gas trade and is common both among European countries and the strongest economies in the Far East, such as Japan and South Korea. Currently, there are 18 regasification terminals in Europe.'

Source LOT

Eiffage to build medical resort

The Interferie Medical Spa is expected to cost around zł.80 million
(Courtesy of Eiffage Budownictwo Mitex)

Construction company Eiffage Budownictwo Mitex will serve as the general contractor of the Interferie Medical Spa hotel project in Świnoujście, Zachodniopomorskie voivodship. The value of the contract, which Eiffage is to realize by June 2011, amounts to over zł.80 million.

The contract calls for the construction and fitting out of a 28,000 sqm hotel, as well as the provision of additional service space and technical infrastructure. Eiffage will also be responsible for preparing the area around the property.

The Interferie Medical Spa will stand five storeys tall, with 308 hotel rooms, and its conference area will comprise seven rooms offering a total of 740 sqm of usable space.

The recreational section of the development will host a 200-sqm swimming pool with a jacuzzi, a fitness club and a complex of saunas. Also included in the scheme will be billiard and bowling areas, as well as a night club and a restaurant.

Interferie is an owner and operator of spas and hotels in Poland, whose portfolio is largely composed of resorts once belonging to copper producer KGHM Polska Miedź. Currently, over 61 percent of the firm is owned by KGHM Ecoren, a subsidiary of the KGHM capital group.

Eiffage Budownictwo Mitex was founded in 1988. Since 2001, the company has been part of the France-based Eiffage group, one of the largest construction conglomerates in Europe.

From Warsaw Business Journal

Above: Platan development

Our local management team already has several Platan units under management, now fully finished and rented to long term tenants (2 of which are my own units!). If any investors are looking for any assistance or advice on these investments or any other whether for fitouts, rentals or resales please get in touch.

Antony Tilney
Office: +44 (0)1428 607369
Mobile: +44 (0)7966 203482
www.ceeproperty.co.uk

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