A gas pipeline will connect Malta to Sicily carrying methane gas, Italian financial daily paper Il Sole 24 Ore said yesterday.

The gas pipeline will be able to carry the gas in both directions as it hopes to bring to Italy the gas that lies below the seafloor in the Malta Channel.

This means, the paper said, that Malta will be bound to Sicily in two ways: first through the Interconnector that carries electricity from Sicily to Malta and now through the gas pipeline.

The preparations for the gas pipeline between Sicily and Malta will begin in July, the paper said.

The pipeline between Sicily and Malta will be 130km long and the pipeline itself will have a diameter of 22 inches.

The paper quotes Minister Konrad Mizzi as saying the pipeline will enable Malta to be connected to the great international gas pipeline network, the TAP, and also eventually to carry gas imports from Libya and Algeria.

The paper said this project has already received the approval of all involved – the Maltese and Italian authorities as well as the Sicilian ones and also the EU.