Works Launched on Gas Interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria

BETAPHOTO/VLADA SRBIJE/SLOBODAN MILJEVIC/EV

The construction of a natural gas interconnection between Serbia and Bulgaria started on Feb. 1 in the section linking Serbian’s southern city of Nis and the town of Dimitrovgrad on the border with Bulgaria, which is slated for completion in October 2023.

EU Delegation to Serbia Head Emanuele Giaufret has described the project as yet another step toward connecting Serbia and the EU. According to Giaufret, the project is important also for energy security and cleaner air for citizens. “We have been reviving the ambition of starting energy transition towards transiting to a green economy regardless of certain open issues such as balancing generation from renewable energy sources and expense-splitting,” he noted.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has said that the project was planned for launch in 2015 and is one of the EU priority projects. “The gas interconnection will be an additional link between Serbia and Bulgaria and will ensure gas supply and energy diversification as well as further expansion of the network,” Brnabic stressed.

The gas pipeline through Serbia will be 109 kilometers long, while the total length of the two-ay gas pipeline through both countries will be 170 kilometers. The design capacity is 1.8 billion cubic meters of gas annually. The project is worth EUR85.5 million, of which EUR25 million is a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), 49.6 million come as a grant from IPA funds, while the remainder of around EUR 11 million will be secured from the budgets of Serbia and gas company Srbijagas.