World Bulletin/News Desk

The Greek Cypriot administration had decided to establish a liquid natural gas terminal and an undersea pipeline to help pump natural gas upstream from the Israeli and adjacent Cypriot offshore fields, top Greek Cypriot commerce, industry and tourism official said.

Neoklis Silikiotis said major global energy companies had expressed interest in the construction of the LNG terminal, adding that a private US research university was set to prepare a feasibility report.

Silikiotis was expected to pay a visit in Israel to meet with officials from Israeli energy companies, as well as with Israeli ministers of trade, industry, energy and foreign affairs.

Earlier in February this year, Israeli prime minister reportedly asked Greek Cypriot administration to allow for the deployment of as much as 20 thousand Israeli commandos to protect a planned natural gas pipeline and a gas terminal to be constructed in southern Cyprus.

A Greek Cypriot source close to the February meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu and Greek Cypriot administration leader Demetris Christofias told the AA last May that Israel had conveyed its desire to build a pipeline and a terminal to pump natural gas from fields in the Eastern Mediterranean to European markets.

Israel offered to build the terminal and to cover all the expenses -- which is estimated around $10 billion -- but it also demanded to employ 10 thousand Israelis in the construction work and 20 thousand commandos to protect the terminal and the pipeline as well as Israeli workers and their families, which would bring up the number of Israelis to come to the port city of Limassol to nearly 50 thousand.

The terminal is vital for the Greek Cypriot administration to carry natural gas it extracted from fields at a unilaterally-declared exclusive economic zone in the Eastern Mediterranean.