Czech Republic, Italy Agree To Expand Transalpine Oil Pipeline - Prime Minister

Czech oil pipeline operator Mero and Italian consortium TAL have agreed to expand the Transalpine oil pipeline, a project which is due to be completed in 2024, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Wednesday

PRAGUE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2023) Czech oil pipeline operator Mero and Italian consortium TAL have agreed to expand the Transalpine oil pipeline, a project which is due to be completed in 2024, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on Wednesday.

"Czech pipeline operator Mero has agreed with the shareholders of the TAL consortium on a project to expand the Transalpine oil pipeline. The agreement should be signed this month, and the completion of the project is expected in 2024," Fiala said at a press conference after his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Prague.

In late November, Fiala said that the expansion of the Transalpine oil pipeline would increase its capacity to 7-8 million tonnes per year. The cost of the project is expected to be about $55.8-$74.4 million. The expansion of the pipeline is expected to end the Czech Republic's dependence on Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, Fiala added.

The Transalpine oil pipeline is laid from the Italian city of Trieste to Germany and Austria. The Czech Republic is connected to it via the IKL pipeline on the territory of the German state of Bavaria.