Construction of the 166 km long, 1,400 mm diameter, Gazelle pipeline is of major strategic importance for both the Czech Republic and for Europe as a whole.
The pipeline is a further step in the diversification of gas sources and ensuring a greater security of supply for the Czech Republic and the European Union (EU) as a whole. In Brandov, northern Bohemia, it connects with the Nord stream (Baltic) and the Opal pipelines (German territory); it is also connected with the Megal long-distance gas network, which supplies southern Germany and France, at the Rozvadov-Waidhaus border station by way of the Přimda distribution hub.
The pipeline is connected with the Czech Republic’s existing long-distance gas network at Brandov, Jirkov, Sviňomazy and Přimda. Construction of the new pipeline began in October 2010 when the foundation stone for the Brandov station was laid. The pipeline is a private investment project by NET4GAS, costing approximately $US522 million ($CZK10 billion).
The official commissioning ceremony was performed by: Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry of the Economy and Technologies Federal Republic of Germany, Anne Ruth Herkes, and State Secretary at the Ministry for Energetics of the Russian Federation Anatolij Borisovitch Janovskij, together with the CEO of RWE AG, Peter Terium, and the CEO of NET4GAS, Thomas Kleefuss.