The project to build a gas interconnection between Serbia and Bulgaria
is one of the European Union's top priorities, the EU energy chief
Maros Sefcovic has said.
Proposals for the funding of the project pursuant to EU rules for
Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) funds are to be discussed
with the prime ministers and the ministers in charge, Sefcovic told
reporters as he toured the Nikola Tesla coal-fired power plant in
Obrenovac on Wednesday, according to Serbian news agency Tanjug.
Five companies have shown interest in advising the Energy Ministry in
Sofia on the project to build a gas interconnector linking Bulgaria and
Serbia.
The EU is backing the project to enable countries in the region to
build gas interconnections to reduce their dependence on a single gas
supply route as well as achieve lower gas prices, Tanjug quoted the
European Commission Vice President for Energy Union as saying.
Gas Interconnection Bulgaria - Serbia is a project which calls for the
construction of a 150 kilometre-long pipeline which will connect the gas
transmission networks of the two neighbouring countries.
The projected pipeline, for which four potential routes have been
mapped, is planned to carry about 1.8 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas
annually in both directions. The capacity of the pipeline could be
expanded up to 4.5 bcm at a later stage.
(hbcbg.com)
(hbcbg.com)
