Preparatory work for the construction of the Balticconnector offshore section begins

The preparatory work for the construction of the offshore section of the Estonian-Finnish gas interconnection begins this week in Lahepere Bay, near Paldiski.

The preparatory work will commence in Lahepere Bay, where the Finnish vessel, Optimus, will establish a trench on the Estonian side of the Balticconnector, into which the submarine pipeline of the interconnection will be installed in the first half of 2019. The preparatory work of the seabed in Lahepere Bay is scheduled to be performed in no more than 40 days.

The preparatory work for the installation of the Balticconnector submarine pipeline in the Estonian exclusive economic zone and territorial waters will be performed this autumn. Furthermore, the interconnections of Balticconnector with other submarine communication cables and gas pipelines will be prepared during this year.

By now, all major permit granting procedures have been completed in Estonia, and agreements on land use have been concluded. The last of such permits was the building permit issued by the Technical Regulatory Authority on 22 June for the submarine section of the gas pipeline. The building permits for the land-based sections of the Balticconnector were issued earlier.

Additionally, Elering has entered into a contract with Skepast & Puhkim OÜ for conducting environmental monitoring before and during the construction of the submarine section of the gas pipeline. The contractual partner will measure the impact of the construction of the pipeline on the environment pursuant to the monitoring scheme approved by the Ministry of the Environment.

The length of the submarine section of the Balticconnector from Paldiski to Inkoo, Finland, is 77 kilometres.