Contract on construction of Serbian stretch of the South Stream Gas Pipeline signed

South Stream Serbia and Russian Centrgaz signed on July 8 the contract for construction of the Serbian leg of the South Stream Gas Pipeline project, the Serbian newswire Tanjug reported July 9.

The EUR 2.1 bln contract was signed by South Stream Serbia director Dusan Bajatovic and Gazprom International Projects head Aleksandr Siromyatin with Centrgaz director Stanislav Anikeyev.

“A major share of work was completed today,” Dusan Bajatovic from South Stream Serbia said after signing of the contract, as cited by the newswire.

Bajatovic expressed special gratitude to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic for their help in search of the solution to some issues connected with the project.

Bojatovis also stated that an additional contract for the loan for the Serbian part of the South Stream Gas Pipeline project will be signed soon and added that the funds have been already set aside and that South Stream Serbian can expect a total of EUR 700 mln from Russian Gazprom.

Director of Centrgaz Stanislav Anikeyev stated that this is a historic moment for Serbian and his company.

“We will do all we can to ensure maximum respect for deadlines set in by the contracting authority.” Anikeyev said, as cited by the newswire.

Gazprom International Projects head Aleksandr Siromyatin added that Srbijagas and Gazprom would also do all they can to make Serbia an important energy hub in Europe.

The construction of the 442-kilometre Serbian section of the South Stream Gas Pipeline is due to be completed in 2016. Once finished, the pipeline’s full annual capacity will total to around 41 bln cubic metres of natural gas.