The new gas connection with Serbia opens up new opportunities for the entire region
Source：Investor BG
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Sofia
Update Time：2023/03/07
The construction of the Bulgarian section of the Bulgaria-Serbia Interconnector (IBS) began with a symbolic first weld. The ceremony was attended by the presidents of Bulgaria, Rumen Radev, and Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, who noted that the gas connection is important not only for both countries, but also for the entire region and Central Europe. It gives Serbia access to the liquefied gas terminals in the terminal in Alexandroupolis, in which Serbia has reserved capacity, and after Bulgaria's agreement with Turkey - to the terminals in the Aegean Sea.
Expanded cooperation enables more gas, lower prices and reduced carbon emissions, Radev said. He also pointed out that our country proved that it is a reliable supplier when the supply of Russian natural gas was suddenly cut off. The new gas connection also provides an opportunity for general negotiations on gas supplies, which will lead to a reduction in the price, Radev also explained.
Aleksandar Vucic noted that the gas connection with Bulgaria is the project with the largest European funding that Serbia has received so far.
For Bulgaria, the new pipe means access to the gas storage in Baumgarten in Austria, which is an additional diversification of gas supplies to the country, commented the director of "Bulgartransgaz" Vladimir Malinov.
On behalf of the project contractor, the member of the Supervisory Board of "Glavbolgarstroy" Kalin Peshov guarantees that the site will be completed on time - by October 2023, subject to compliance with all quality requirements and the protection of the health of workers in the region, as well as environmental Protection.
"As a company with more than half a century of experience in the construction of gas infrastructure in Eastern Europe, we are aware of the high honor, but also the high responsibility, to be the executors of this strategic project. I want to thank the president Rumen Radev and the management of Bulgartransgaz for the demonstrated political will for the implementation of this project and other strategic projects such as the expansion of the gas storage facility in Chiren," Peshov also said.
The builder of the Bulgarian section is the DZZD "International Gas" consortium, which includes "Glavbolgarstroy" AD and "Glavbolgarstroy International" AD. The implementation contract was concluded last May and its value - for the supply of materials and equipment, as well as construction and commissioning, is BGN 139.8 million, part of which is a grant from the European Commission (EC).
A few days ago, "Bulgartransgaz" concluded an agreement with the Dutch ING Bank for a state-guaranteed loan worth a little over 49 million euros. It must be absorbed by the end of the year and has a one-year grace period on payments. The term of the contract is five years, reported Bulgartransgaz, but without specifying the amount of interest on this loan.
European funding for the project is EUR 27 million.
The plans envisage the length of the interconnector to be 170 kilometers (from Novi Iskar to Nis), of which about 62 kilometers are on Bulgarian territory. The capacity is 1.8 billion cubic meters per year with the possibility of reverse flow, which means that our country will have full access to the gas markets in Central Europe both as a supplier and as a buyer of the raw material.
The operator of the gas connection is "Bulgartransgaz". The director of the company specified to journalists that the capacity of the connection is not reserved and will be offered through the platforms that the company traditionally uses.
Some of the pipes - 5,500 pieces - have already been delivered to the site. They are manufactured in India and the war in Ukraine proved a challenge in delivering them to Bulgaria.
The construction of the Serbian part of the route began in February 2022 with 74.5 million euros in the form of grants and loans from the EU.
IBS has had the status of a project of national importance since 2013, which gives it a reduction in bureaucracy in moving some of the activities. A few years later, in 2017, the realization of the connection with Serbia was announced as a project of pan-European importance, and its importance is evidenced by the fact that it remained on the list after the last revision of the projects at the end of 2021. Then the EC announced that more will not recognize gas projects as important to the community.
Source: https://www.investor.bg/a/518-energetika/368553-novata-gazova-vrazka-sas-sarbiya-otvarya-novi-vazmozhnosti-za-tseliya-region