BACEVIC: South Stream construction in Serbia kicks off December 20th

(Milan Bacevic)

Construction of South Stream gas pipeline in Serbia should start December 20th, Serbian Minister of Natural Resources, Mining and Spatial Planning Milan Bacevic said December 6th.

- The projected cost of the Serbian arm of South Stream gas pipeline is EUR 2 billion, about USD 900 million of which should be provided by Serbia - said the minister.

In an interview with NIN magazine, Bacevic also said that Srbijagas, that is, its Switzerland-based subsidiary South Stream, was in charge of the gas pipeline construction.

Bacevic noted that the state was yet to provide bank guarantees, adding that it was ready to do that.

The South Stream project will not be endangered by possible problems in Srbijagas' operations because the Serbian government would in that case assume all obligations, said the minister.

Bacevic reiterated that South Stream should annually bring between 500 and 600 million euros in revenues to Serbia from transit taxes alone.