Cypriot cabinet approves EastMed pipeline

Cyprus’ cabinet on Thursday ratified a bill on the EastMed gas pipeline project, the country’s Energy Minister Giorgos Lakkotrypis said in a statement. 

Speaking after the meeting, Lakkotrypis said this project “has a chance to materialise.”

Asked whether the coronavirus pandemic has affected the prospects for cooperation between the countries involved, he responded that those involved in such big projects plan for years ahead.

The necessary studies are currently underway and soon the consortium will proceed with its effort to find buyers for the natural gas, he added.

The bill will now be sent to Parliament for approval.

The deal to build an undersea pipeline to carry gas from new offshore deposits in the southeastern Mediterranean to continental Europe was signed by Greece, Israel and Cyprus on January 2.

The 1,900-kilometer (1,300-mile) pipeline is intended to provide an alternative gas source for energy-hungry Europe, which is largely dependent on supplies from Russia and the Caucasus region.

A Greek parliamentary committee has also approved the project.