The complaint was submitted to Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, Klaipėdos Nafta, the developer of the LNG terminal project, said in a press release adding that the company had been brought into the proceedings as the third party concerned.
The management of Klaipėdos Nafta believes that the complaint is groundless and the company will provide a response to the complaint within the terms specified by the court, Klaipėdos Nafta reports through the NASDAQ OMX Vilnius Stock Exchange.
In particular, the complainants ask the court to annul June 13 decision by Energy Minister Jaroslav Neverovič approving the special plan for the construction of the LNG terminal, related infrastructure and a gas pipeline. The contested document, inter alia, provides for a possibility to build the pipeline through the land parcels owned by the complainants.
“The validity of the minister’s order has not been suspended, therefore the company has no reason to believe that the construction works required for the implementation of the LNG facility project could be stalled as a result of this complaint,” Indrė Milinienė, spokeswoman for Klaipėdos Nafta, told BNS.
“Everyone has the right to defend his or her rights. The court will find out whether our order is legitimate. We worked it out in compliance with legislation,” Daiva Rimašauskaitė, an adviser to the energy minister, told BNS.
Sigita Jacinevičienė Baltaduonė, spokeswoman for Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, told BNS that the complaint was received on July 25 and the parties should file the answers by August 30. Nine private individuals and two legal entities, including Ferteksos Transportas and Vidmarta, addressed the court, she said.
“They have asked the court to annul the June 13 order of the energy minister on approval of a special plan for the construction of the LNG terminal, related infrastructure and the gas pipeline. The complaint says that the territory planned in the special plan includes the land parcels in the district of Klaipėda, which are owned by the complainants,” Jacinevičienė Baltaduonė said.
She added that the complainants pointed out that the easements, through which the gas pipeline was planned to be built, had been planned illegally in the special plan without concluding any contracts with landowners. Moreover, the area earmarked for the construction of the pipeline was bigger than necessary.
Latvia's BMGS will design and build the jetty for 113.6 million litas (EUR 33m), including VAT, and Germany's PPS Pipeline Systems will design and build the 20-kilometer pipeline from the LNG terminal to the grid for 114.756 million litas.
Investments in the construction of the terminal are estimated at around 450 million litas. The company plans to use its own funds, money paid by gas consumers and borrowed funds to finance the LNG terminal project, which is planned to be completed by December 2014.
The state holds a 72.32-percent stake in Klaipėdos Nafta, which is quoted on the Secondary List of the NASDAQ OMX Vilnius Stock Exchange.
