Minister Nikolov expressed the expectation that the Bulgaria-Serbia interconnector will be completed by the end of October 2023

I expect that by October 2023 at the latest, the Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnection will be completed and will help expand the opportunities for our country to access the European gas market. It will provide Serbia and other countries in the region with access to various gas sources through the Southern Gas Corridor and the liquefied natural gas terminal near Alexandroupolis. This was said by the Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov during the start ceremony of the construction of the Serbian section of the gas-Bulgaria interconnection, which took place near the Bulgarian-Serbian border, the press center of the Ministry of Energy announced.

The event, held under the patronage of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia Ana Bernabic, was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy of our western neighbor Prof. Zorana Mihajlovic, the Executive Director of Bulgartransgaz EAD Vladimir Malinov and the Ambassador of Bulgaria in Serbia Petko Doikov.

Minister Nikolov also stressed the benefits for consumers from changing the gas map - by building interconnectors such as the one with Serbia, the region will have alternative sources of natural gas, which facilitates negotiations with our potential partners, said Minister Nikolov. According to him, the reduction of prices and security of supply are among the most important positive effects of interconnection in the region in the long run.

Minister Nikolov also stressed the role of natural gas in reducing carbon emissions in Southeast Europe, given the challenges associated with the high share of coal in the energy mix of countries in the region, according to the press center of the Ministry of Energy.

The current situation of high energy price volatility requires targeted and effective measures in which active cooperation and further integration of energy markets in the region will allow us to meet the challenges. In this sense, the Bulgaria-Serbia gas interconnection project is an example of how sustainable cooperation between our two countries and the European Commission can ensure mutual benefits for both countries and for the entire region, the Energy Minister concluded.

The Bulgaria-Serbia Gas Interconnection (IBS) is envisaged as a reverse connection that will connect the national gas transmission networks of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Serbia.

The gas pipeline is planned to have a total length of about 170 km from the town of Novi Iskar, Republic of Bulgaria, to the town of Nis, Republic of Serbia, of which about 62 km on Bulgarian territory.

The planned capacity of the gas pipeline is 5.5 million m3 / day (1.8 billion m3 per year) with the possibility of reverse flow. This capacity is expected to be increased to 2.4 billion m3 / year within the implementation of the third phase of the project of common interest for the EU "Rehabilitation, modernization and expansion of the Bulgarian transmission system".

The Bulgaria-Serbia interconnector has been declared a project of common interest for the EU and the Energy Community, as well as one of the seven priority projects within the CESEC Interconnection in Central and South-Eastern Europe initiative.