Construction, EU – Baltic States, Gas, Lithuania, Security

The Committee on National Security and Defense (NSGK) decided on Wednesday to ask for another review of Alvora. 

According to NSGK Chairman Dainius Gaizauskas, the committee has no legal right to order such a review, but it can ask the governmental commission to re-examine information on Alvora. 

"In light of certain information (...), it was proposed at the committee to ask the commission, if possible, to conduct another review of (Alvora's) compliance with national security interests," he told. 

The information provided by the State Security Department on Wednesday does not differ in content from that submitted earlier, according to the chairman. 

"Those threats have neither increased nor decreased. We may say that all risks are under control," he told reporters after the committee's meeting. 

Alminas Maciulis, the government's vice chancellor who chairs the governmental commission, told reporters that Alvora had been unanimously cleared by the commission earlier this year. 

Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas believes that Lithuania's power transmission grid operator Amber Grid will manage all risks.

Alvora completed the construction of the Estonian-Finnish gas pipeline Balticconnector, a project of strategic significance to Estonia, a week ago, the minister noted.

"We have vetting mechanism, which Estonia perhaps does not have, but the project was carried out on schedule and successfully there," he said. 

According to Rolandas Zukas, CEO at Epso-G, Amber Grid's shareholder, there is a certain time pressure, but the project is not yet running behind schedule. A part of pipes for the project have already been manufactured, he noted.  

Alvora, together with Siauliu Dujotiekio Statyba, won a contract worth almost 90 mln euros to build the gas pipeline to Poland. The contract is expected to be signed by the end of this month, with the project planned to be completed in late 2021.