Negotiations with Azerbaijan in final phase, agreement expected by end of May – 500 MW gas-fired power plant planned by end of decade

Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic spoke with a delegation of the State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) in Belgrade about the project to build a gas-fired power plant near Nis.

– The main topic of today’s meeting was the harmonization of the commercial and technical terms of the contract for the construction of a gas-fired power plant near Nis, where good progress has been made in a short time. Intensive work on the agreement began immediately after the signing of the Agreement between the governments of Serbia and Azerbaijan on the construction of a gas-fired power plant in Serbia in February in Belgrade, in the presence of the presidents of the two countries, Aleksandar Vucic and Ilham Aliyev. This week, the delegation from Azerbaijan had a series of meetings at the technical level with representatives of the Ministry, Elektroprivreda Srbije and Srbijagas, and we believe that by early May we will have agreed on the terms of the contract for the construction of the new power plant – said the minister.

According to her, the contract will, among other things, define the participation and responsibilities of EPS, Srbijagas and SOCAR in this project, for the implementation of which a joint venture will be established.

– The gas power plant project is envisaged in all strategic documents as a capacity that should provide additional base energy for our power system, greater energy security, especially for the needs of industry in southern Serbia – said Djedovic Handanovic and added that the new power plant was planned to be built by 2030.

The final decision on the capacity of the power plant will depend on the profitability of the investment, and a capacity of around 500 megawatts for the production of electricity and around 150 megawatts of thermal energy is currently being considered.

The minister emphasized that Azerbaijan had proven to be a reliable partner in supplying Serbia with natural gas in the preceding three years.

– Gas deliveries from Azerbaijan are increasing year by year, and the operation of the gas power plant, once built, will require around 600 million cubic meters of gas per year – the statement says.

In addition to SOCAR representatives, the meeting was also attended by representatives of Elektroprivreda Srbije and Srbijagas.

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

JP Srbijagas Novi Sad

SOCAR

Ministry of Mining and Energy

Elektroprivrede Srbije

Srbijagas

Dubravka Đedović Handanović

construction of gas fired power plant near Niš

gas fired power plant