Presentation of procedure documents to the public - new pipeline project well on schedule
Kassel. The European gas pipeline link EUGAL has entered a new phase in Saxony. The opening of the regional planning procedure by the state authorities in Saxony marks the start of the official investigation to identify a preferred corridor and possible alternatives for the section through Saxony.
In this procedure, the regional planning authority will investigate the various effects of the project that have a spatial impact, for example, on the settlement structure, business development, agriculture, nature and landscape from a supra-local viewpoint. The municipalities and the other bodies dealing with public matters also have the opportunity during this time to comment on the application documents. To inform and involve the local residents, the application documents will be made available to the public in all municipalities affected by the route corridors.
The people along the possible route have already been given an initial overview of the project: In recent weeks, the GASCADE project team presented the plans for the gas pipeline to the public in Coswig and Deutschneudorf. “The development of infrastructure is a community task. Entering into dialog with local residents provides an opportunity to involve the public and gain important information for the planning process,” said Ludger Hümbs, Chief EUGAL Project Manager.
The EUGAL is expected to transport gas from the Baltic Sea as far as the Czech Republic from the end of 2019. According to the plans, the section through Saxony which is around 110 kilometers long will be a double pipeline from Lampertswalde as far as the Adelsdorf station. A single pipeline will then run as far as Deutschneudorf where it will connect with the system operated by the Czech network operator Net4Gas. In order to minimize the space required, the pipeline will be laid as close as possible parallel to the OPAL gas pipeline which went into operation in 2011 o other transport pipelines.
With the new pipeline, GASCADE is responding to the growing demand for gas and gas transport capacity in Europe. The business information service IHS expects an annual shortfall in imports of 170 billion cubic meters in 2035. At the same time, the Europe-wide market survey more capacity shows that the long-term transport requirements between Germany and its neighbors are in some cases well above the available technical capacities.
GASCADE is providing information about the project on the Internet site www.eugal.de.
