ALGIERS: Economic and technical problems are blocking the construction of a new gas pipeline that would link Algeria to Italy, Algeria's energy minister was quoted by a newspaper as saying, raising doubts the project will come on stream on schedule.

Italy, struggling to diversify its gas supplies to meet growing domestic demand, depends on imports for 90 percent of its natural gas. Algeria provides it with around 35 percent of its imported gas through an existing pipeline that passed through Tunisia.

The 8 billion cubic meter Galsi pipeline, which was planned to pump gas directly from Algeria to Sardinia and was scheduled for start-up in 2014, was intended to make Italy's supplies more secure.

"With regard to the Galsi project, the partners are waiting for technical and economic conditions to be present and also to obtain administrative authorization in Italy to go ahead with the project," El Khabar newspaper quoted Energy and Mines Minister Youcef Yousfi as saying on Monday.

The minister did not give details of the problems blocking the project, whose partners include Algerian state energy firm Sonatrach and Italian utilities Edison, Enel and Hera.

The Galsi project has already faced delays because of concerns about the route and hold-ups in obtaining approvals from the Italian government and local authorities.

Yousfi's interview is the first time, however, that a senior Algerian official has raised the issue of "economic conditions" for the project, suggesting that there may now be question marks about its viability.

Italy's reliance on Algerian gas was underlined at the weekend, when energy giant Eni said it was importing more gas from Algeria to offset a fall in Russian supplies caused by the cold weather in Europe.