Warsaw [Poland], October 4: Poland's defense-sector investment agency ZIOTP and state-owned oil pipeline operator PERN on Friday signed an initial agreement here to expand the country's fuel infrastructure as part of its plan to join NATO's pipeline network.
Under the agreement, the project, worth about 5.5 billion U.S. dollars, will expand Poland's fuel storage facilities for NATO military needs and build about 300 km of pipelines from the Poland-German border to PERN's depot near the city of Bydgoszcz in north-central Poland.
Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said NATO has allocated funds for the project's planning and design, according to Polish Press Agency.
Earlier this year, German magazine Der Spiegel reported that NATO was considering extending its Cold War-era fuel pipeline system from Germany into Poland and the Czech Republic. The project, estimated at about 22 billion dollars, is expected to be largely completed by 2035, the report said.
Source: Xinhua News Agency
