Gas pipeline concerns in Sicily will be addressed, Energy Minister tells Sicilian regional president

Consultation meetings on the Malta-Sicily gas pipeline will continue in Sicily so that local concerns are addressed in the project design, Energy Minister Joe Mizzi says

The gas pipeline connecting Malta to Sicily is expected to be up and ready in 2024
The gas pipeline connecting Malta to Sicily is expected to be up and ready in 2024

Concerns in Sicily over the gas pipeline to Malta will be addressed during consultation meetings that will continue in the months ahead, Energy Minister Joe Mizzi said.

He was speaking to Sebastiano Musumeci, Sicilian regional president, during a bilateral meeting this morning.

Mizzi assured Musumeci that the consultation process started several months ago will go on as the project’s environmental impact assessment continues. 

“Further consultation meetings will be held during the coming months in Sicily to further explain the progress of the project and enable Malta’s authorities to understand concerns on the Sicilian side,” Mizzi said.

In June concerns were raised on the Italian side over the pipelines route that would pass through a Natura 2000 site. The Italian authorities were reported to have pressed their Maltese counterparts to carry out detailed environmental impact studies. 

The gas pipeline is expected to connect Gela on Sicily’s southern coast with Delimara. When completed, Malta will be able to import natural gas from the European gas network, making the liquefied natural gas storage ship at Delimara redundant.

Mizzi said the Maltese government was taking the environmental impact of this project “very seriously”.

“The environmental impact assessments are being undertaken, both on the landward side and on the seaward side, in order to ensure that the necessary mitigation measures are included in the project design to enable the least possible impact on the natural and marine environment of Sicily,” Mizzi said.

He said Malta wanted to work together with the Sicilian authorities to ensure that the project attains a high level of acceptability in Sicily.

The gas pipeline project was designated by the EU as a project of common interest because it would reduce Malta’s energy isolation.

It is slated for completion in 2024.