A ceremony has been held in Swinoujscie near the western Baltic coast in Poland, laying the cornerstone for the future LNG gas terminal there.

Doing the honors was Prime Minister Donald Tusk in the company of Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad.

The liquid gas terminal will be located  on 48 hectares of land in the north-western part of the island of Wolin.

The main structures of the complex will be two giant fuel tanks with a total capacity of 160 thousand cubic meters.

A Polish-Italian-French-Canadian consortium employing some 2 thousand specialists and highly qualified personnel has been entrusted with the construction works.

The project, part of Poland’s plan to reduce its reliance on Russian energy supply, is estimated to cost 3 billion zloty, roughly 1 billion US dollars, and its construction should be completed by the end of 2013.

The first tankers with LNG deliveries from Qatar are expected in Swinoujscie in mid 2014.  (ss)