Eurasia Press & News
The start of the South Stream pipeline section through Serbia, one of the largest investments in the country in several decades, will formally begin on Sunday.
The start of the work will be marked by welding the first two pipes in Šajkaš, northern Serbia, but the work on the ground will begin in February next year.
Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, Prime Minister Ivica Dačić, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak and Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller will be at the formal ceremony marking the start of the construction.
Three agreements related to the pipeline will be signed at the event, on transport, funding and declaring the section through Serbia a project of national interest.
The construction of the 421 km long section through Serbia – an investment worth over EUR 1.9 billion – will provide work for 25,000 people directly and indirectly for another 100,000 employees of Serbian companies.
The location and construction permits have been issued, and the tenders for the contractor will be invited by mid-December 2013.
The construction will be done the joint venture South Stream Serbia, of which Gazprom owns 51 percent and Srbijagas 49.
The construction of the pipeline in Serbia will take two years.
