The financial agreement for the project of the construction of the gas interconnector between Serbia and Bulgaria has been signed on May 21 by the Serbian Minister of Finance Sinisa Mali and the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Lilyana Pavlova.
The idea of the construction of a gas interconnection for the purpose of the diversification of the routes and the sources of gas has existed for nearly 3 decades, and the agreement on the construction of the Nis-Dimitrovgrad gas pipeline was signed back in 2010.
The total value of the project amounts :
- to €85.5 million
- of which the EIB will provide €25 million as loans
- €49.6 million representing grants from the EU IPA funds
- the rest is to be covered by Serbian state and state-owned gas company Srbijagas
- After the diversification of gas routes, Serbia’s goal is to also achieve the diversification of suppliers
- The Niš-Dimitrovgrad gas pipeline will enable Serbia to be supplied with natural gas from other suppliers – from LNG terminals in Greece, from the TAP and TANAP gas pipelines that are part of the Southern Gas Corridor, and possibly from the Eastern Mediterranean gas pipeline, with gas from the Leviathan field (Cyprus and Israel)
- The European Investment Bank is supporting the energy transition in Serbia and around the world
- As part of the EIB energy lending policy agreed in 2019, we committed to supporting a few select gas projects already under appraisal, before moving to renewables-only lending from the end of 2021
- That is why the EIB is pleased to provide 25 million euro to back the construction of the Serbian side of this interconnector, a priority project for the EU
The plan is for it to become operational by 2023.
