Serbia is expected to complete work on its leg of a natural gas interconnector with Bulgaria in the coming days, opening up gas supplies from Azerbaijan and eventually from LNG terminals in Greece and Turkey and trimming Belgrade’s energy dependence on Russia.
The interconnector, between the southern Serbian town of Nis and the Bulgarian capital Sofia, has been financed with 49.6 million euros in grants from the European Union, a 25-million-euro loan from the European Investment Bank, and, according to Serbian authorities, some 19 million euros from the Serbian budget.
In mid-November, Serbia and Azerbaijan agreed on a deal for some 400 million cubic metres of gas per year from Azerbaijan, starting in 2024.