The LNG terminal is expected to begin trial work in early December and be put to commercial use on January 1.
The "LNG Croatia" is a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) and it will be one of the main elements of the terminal.
The vessel arrived in Rijeka from a shipyard near Shanghai in mid-October. It was selected in a procurement procedure two years ago, when the Golar Power company offered to convert the Golar Viking LNG tanker, made in 2005, into a €159.6 million FSRU.
It has an annual storage capacity of 2.6 billion cubic metres. The floating LNG terminal will allow the docking of all LNG transport vessels with capacities ranging from 3,500 to 265,000 cubic metres.
The construction of the terminal in Omisalj is a strategic project for Croatia which will ensure natural gas supplies and stimulate competition.
The investment in the terminal amounts to €233.6 million, of which €101.4 million is a European Commission grant given that the terminal has been included on its list of projects of common interest.
The terminal's entire storage capacity has been leased for the next three gas years.