The gas terminal due for the north of Croatia could lose its status as a strategic project according to media in the country. 

The new government has lowered the priority for plans to build a liquid natural gas terminal on the Island of Krk. The previous centre left government had given the project ‘strategic status’ last year.

The plans for the terminal were first developed in 2010 when Croatia’s state energy companies founded ‘LNG Croatia’.

However, the project is still expected to be fully implemented by new Prime Minister, Tihomir Oreskovic.

Croatia’s president reiterated the importance of the project back in January in a visit to Poland. She said, “The construction of the LNG terminal on Krk will hopefully be completed in the near future and with it, the connection towards the Baltics and Poland. I think it would contribute a lot to energy efficiency and security.”

The US has also voiced support for the project to create a regional gas hub. Vice President, Joe Biden recently told the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic that a LNG terminal at Krk could supply Serbia using a Trans-Adriatic Pipeline.

The potential removal of the ‘strategic’ status of the terminal is therefore, a huge surprise to many in Croatia.