The preparations for the construction of the European gas pipeline link EUGAL are making progress. From Friday, 1 September 2017, the first pipes will be delivered to several pipe storage points until construction of EUGAL starts in mid-2018. The storage points are located along the planned route, which will require a total of 47,000 pipes to be completed. The pipes will be transported by train to eastern Germany and then distributed by truck from railway stations in Lubmin, Drögeheide and Prenzlau to nearby storage points.

The Transport-System-Operator GASCADE is mounting a huge logistics effort to ensure that all the pipes are on site in good time before construction gets underway. “In the case of such a large project like the construction of EUGAL it is vital that all the steps are perfectly coordinated,” Ludger Hümbs, Chief Project Manager for EUGAL, explains. GASCADE will begin building the pipeline once the planning approval notice has been issued, which is expected in mid-2018. “So far, we’re on schedule and expect all the approvals to be available as planned,” says Hümbs.

The pipes of the 485 kilometer-long pipeline from the Baltic Sea to the German-Czech border are around 18 meters long, weighs 15 tons and have 1,40 meters in diameter and manufactured by EUROPIPE. Forecasts from the European network development plan 2017 see an import gap of up to 183 billion cubic meters annually by 2035. At the same time, a Europe-wide market survey shows that the long-term transport requirements between Germany and its neighbors are in some cases well above the available technical capacities.The EUGAL pipeline will make an contribution to a flexible energy supply for Germany and Europe and enable the transport of natural gas in all directions in Europe.