BELGRADE, November 11 (RIA Novosti) – Serbia’s prime minister said Monday that the construction of his country’s section of the Russia-initiated South Stream gas pipeline would begin on November 24.
Prime Minister Ivica Dacic made the announcement after meeting with Gazprom officials, including the company’s chief executive.
“It is very important to begin the construction of South Stream as soon as possible,” he said before the talks.
The South Stream pipeline is expected to annually transport up to 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Central and Southern Europe along the Black Sea seabed, diversifying Russian gas routes away from transit countries such as Ukraine.
The Serbian section of the pipeline will stretch to about 450 kilometers (280 miles) and cost an estimated 1.7 billion euros ($2.3 million). Gazprom is expected to pay for all construction costs related to the Serbian section.
The Serbian government’s press service said Monday that Russia and Serbia planned to lay pipelines to supply South Stream gas to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Kosovo.
