GASUNIE TRANSMISSION GRID UPGRADE-TEN

The project will expand the capacity of the Dutch gas transmission system and strengthen the Netherlands' position as the gas "roundabout" of Northwest Europe. It involves in particular the construction and operation of about 300 km of new high-pressure gas pipeline looping sections and of two new gas compression stations.

The project will expand the gas transmission capacity in the Netherlands to meet growing domestic demand and to transit additional gas volumes from new supply sources such as the Nordstream pipeline through the Baltic Sea or new LNG terminals in Rotterdam to the Western Europe and the UK markets. It will contribute to the further integration of the European gas market and to the increased security of supply.

All of the project schemes fall under Annex I category of the EC directive 85/337 and its amendment [1] and thus shall require an Environmental Impact Assessment. The promoter has started the EIA process in 2006 by submitting to the competent authority and the public a scoping document covering its entire investment programme for the period 2007 to 2012, in line with the requirement of the SEA directive 2001/42/EC. In parallel five individual EIA's are being carried out for each of the main project schemes that will form part of the relevant regional permit applications. The EIA process is ongoing and should be concluded (environmental consent) in December 2007

• Non Technical Summary (NTS) of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)
  

[1]Only one pipeline representing 6% of the Gas System programme falls under the Annex II category

The promoter is a public utility operating under exclusive rights and therefore it follows the requirements of the procurement directive 2004/17/EC. The main contracts for the project will be subject to open or restricted international procedures with publication in the OJEU of the relevant tender or pre-qualification notices.