Donation Contract Signed to Support Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor

Rudiger Hartman and Dubravka Djedovic (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

A donation contract worth EUR 8.5 million was signed in the Government of Serbia building on Jan. 23 to support the construction of the fourth section of the Trans-Balkan Electricity Corridor.

Director of Elektromreza Srbije public grid utility Jelena Matejic said that the project was the largest the organization had carried out, adding that in the next ten years EUR 900 million would be invested in the national power transmission system.

Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic said that it’s a step to solidify the country’s energy stability and power supply in western and central parts of Serbia.

Minister Djedovic underlined that the project was brining Serbia back on the map of European energy system, and that it would facilitate the production and distribution of electricity in Europe, while also making it possible for Serbian citizens to pay the lowest electricity prices.

Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret said the project was a watershed moment for Serbia on its way to the EU, and for its citizens, describing the energy to arrive via the Trans-Balkan Corridor as better, safer and greener.

“This line connects Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is one of very important ones on a pan-European scale in electricity connectivity,” Giaufret said.

The Trans-Balkan Corridor is expected to be operative in 2027. The German Development Bank (KFW) has supported the construction of Sections 2 and 3 with EUR 90.3 million. A 321-kilometers-long section travelling through Serbia branches in four directions, two of which have been completed.