Work on South Stream pipeline leg through Serbia begins

Source: Tanjug

ŠAJKAŠ -- The formal start of the work on the South Stream pipeline section in Serbia began by welding the first two pipes together in Šajkaš, near Novi Sad, on Sunday.

(Tanjug)

The full extent of the work will begin in February 2014.
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić gave the signal from Belgrade through a video link to start the welding.

South Stream Serbia Technical Director Pavel Persidski said in Šajkaš earlier that everything was ready for the start of the construction.

One of the two pipes welded had a Serbian flag on it and the other and the other a Russian. Two men welded the pipes together, one from Serbia and the other from Russia.

Srbijagas Executive Director for Investments Jovica Budimir reported to the Serbian government through a video link about the completion of the first work on the pipeline in Serbia.

South Stream is one of the biggest investments in Serbia, worth more than EUR 1.9 billion.

A joint venture, South Stream Serbia, will construct the pipeline section in Serbia. Srbijagas owns 49 percent of that company, while Gazprom owns 51 percent.

The construction will take two years. The pipeline is scheduled to become operational in 2016.

Gas to be supplied by end of 2016

Gazprom deputy director Aleksandr Siromyatin said in Belgrade on Sunday that the South Stream pipeline will start supplying gas to consumers by the end of 2016.

After a ceremony marking the start of the construction of the South Stream section through Serbia, Siromyatin told reporters the work on the Black Sea section started in 2012, and that the part going to the Bulgarian border will be finished in the second quarter of 2014, so the gas would reach Bulgaria by the end of 2015.

The selection process for the contractors and project work is still ongoing in Hungary, while the evaluation of the pipeline's environmental impact is being conducted in Slovenia, he said.

It means that the pipeline should supply gas to all of its consumers by the end of 2016, he remarked.

The profitability of building a pipeline section to Kosovo and Macedonia has not been confirmed yet, but the issue will be reviewed once the it is determined the project would be profitable, he said.