MIHAJLOVIC: Law on South Stream by year's end

(Zorana Mihajlovic)

The Law on South Stream will be passed by the year`s end, and the construction of that gas pipeline should start in Serbia in December, Minister of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection Zorana Mihajlovic said on Tuesday.

The first draft of that law will be finished in 15 days, and then rushed through the parliament, Mihajlovic said after opening a water treatment plant in the village of Stavalj, southwestern Serbia.

The minister noted that the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline would start in Russia on December 7th.

Gazprom intends to use this pipeline to distribute gas through the Black Sea, across Europe, to Italy. The value of the entire project is close to EUR 16 billion, whereas the cost of the section through Serbia is estimated at EUR 1.7 billion. Works in our country will be carried out by the company Juzni Tok Srbija (South Stream Serbia), in which Gazprom and Srbijagas hold a 51-percent and a 49-percent stake, respectively.