Romania’s Minister of Energy Sebastian Burduja and the Director-General of Transgaz Ion Sterian signed a financing contract for the construction of the gas transmission pipeline to supply the Mintia Power Plant situated in Hunedoara county. The pipeline will supply other industrial consumers as well as domestic consumers.
The project has a total value of 60,4 million euros and the amount of financing from the Modernisation Fund is 6,8 million euros. The location of the works for the natural gas transmission pipeline to supply the MINTIA power plant is outside the built-up area and inside the built-up area of the localities Sântămăria Orlea, Bretea Română, Băcia, Cârjiți, Vețel and the towns of Călan, Hunedoara, Deva, over a total distance of 56.5 kilometres.
“It is a step forward for this plant to be commissioned in 2026,” said Sebastian Burduja. “We are basically providing the raw material, the gas, for the plant. It is a great project, the largest gas-fired power plant in Europe – 1,700 megawatts (MW) of installed power.”
According to him, this project means more than 1,200 jobs during the construction of the plant.
“We are talking about a reliable energy produced in a row, we are talking about the most efficient plant in Europe, with an efficiency of 64 per cent and, therefore, the substantial support that Romania receives on the path towards the green transition and the replacement of coal in the energy mix with natural gas, a strategic resource to which Romania has access,” continued the Minister.
“By signing the financing contract under the Modernisation Fund […], even if it ensures only 11 per cent of the investment value, Transgaz reaffirms its firm commitment to continue the actions to obtain grants in order to implement its strategic investments program, for the development and upgrading of the natural gas transmission infrastructure,” stated Mr Sterian. “With a capacity of 1,700 MW and an annual consumption of 2.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas, the Mintia Power Plant becomes the largest consumer of natural gas in our country and will contribute significantly to the increase in Romania’s natural gas consumption.”
As he explained, all the administrative-territorial units crossed by this pipeline will be
connected to it, thus contributing to the economic development of the region and to the
increase in the welfare of the community.
“With this investment, Transgaz continues to contribute to the sustainable development of the national economy, by making better use of the gas to be extracted from the Black Sea offshore blocks, inside the country and by increasing and strengthening national, regional and European energy security,” he added.