Energy consumers in Serbia will have a more secure and diverse supply of natural gas after the Serbia – Bulgaria Gas Interconnector starts working.
In Trupale near Niš, the ceremony for finishing of works on the Interconnector, largely financed by the European Union, was attended by President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, Predsident of Azerbaijan Ilhan Aliyev and EU Ambassador to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret.
„The EU strongly supported this project to diversify Serbia`s energy sources and put an end to its full dependence on Russian gas. The EU Member States have significantly reduced their dependence on Russian natural gas, as we need reliable suppliers. This milestone is part of the overall support the EU has provided to Serbia in the energy sector to improve the lives of Serbian Citizens“, Ambassador Giaufret said.
The Minister of Energy and Mining, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, stated that the construction of the gas interconnector with Bulgaria is important for citizens and the economy, as well as that it is a very important and large international project for positioning Serbia on the gas map of Europe.
“The countries that proved to be the most resilient in the energy crisis are those that had multiple sources of supply, and this is exactly what we are ensuring with this project. There is no gasification without infrastructure and physical works, there is no possibility for better connections without cooperation with other countries,” said the Minister Đedović Handanović.
Serbia will get a new piece of infrastructure that will connect it to gas markets to which it did not have access before. Gas deliveries from Azerbaijan have been agreed by the Serbian Government, while the LNG terminal in Greece’s Alexandroupolis is under construction.
Besides Niš, the pipeline will also include 3 other gas metering and regulation stations in Bela Palanka, Pirot and Dimitrovgrad, allowing thus for these three cities and regions of Serbia – their citizens, schools, hospitals, businesses, to have access to gas supply, for heating and industrial production. Construction works started in January 2022.
The project of building the gas interconnector Niš– Dimitrovgrad – Bulgaria is financed partly through EU grants, in the amount of EUR 49.6 million, as well as EUR 25 million of a favourable loan from the European Investment Bank that Serbia will pay for the part of the gas pipeline passing through Serbia. The Republic of Serbia has allocated EUR 15 million and EUR 7.5 million for preparatory works and the design.
Gas supply is important for citizens and economy. Gas secures partly the heating for homes as well as functioning of numerous industries. Currently, gas is responsible for 13% of Serbia’s primary energy consumption and Serbia can receive it only from two entry points – through the Balkan Stream pipeline and from Hungary.
The gas interconnector, connecting gas networks of Serbia and Bulgaria, will boost the diversification of energy sources in Serbia and the Western Balkan region, allowing Serbia more secure and stable supply from different gas network systems.
The European Union is the biggest donor of the energy sector in Serbia, with investments exceeding EUR 1 billion in grant funds since 2000. In 2023, the EU provided Serbia with the Energy Support Package of EUR 165 million in order to help citizens and small and medium-sized enterprises dealing with the increasing energy prices and green energy transition. Additionally, EUR 31.2 million was approved for the construction of new wind farm Kostolac (KfW loan EUR 81.8 million) and EUR 16.1 million for the reconstruction of hydro power plant Vlasina (EBRD loan EUR 61.6 million).
