Law on South Stream passed to speed up land expropriation

The Serbian parliament on Wednesday passed a law on the South Stream, which will speed up expropriation of land and site preparation for the construction of the gas pipeline's stretch through Serbia, Tanjug news agency reports.

The bill received support from 176 MPs from the ruling coalition and the opposition Democratic Party (DS) and Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), while lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV) voted against it.

The new law makes it easier to acquire necessary permits and build the Serbian section of this major pipeline, which will cost around EUR 1.7 billion.

The law defines special rules for full expropriation of some 10,000 plots located on the pipeline's route, the beneficiary of which is South Stream Novi Sad, a company co-owned by Srbijagas and Russia's Gaszprom which have a 49 and 51 percent stake respectively.

The law will come into effect one day after it is published in the Official Gazette.

Construction on the Serbian leg of the pipeline, with two branches extending towards Republika Srpska and Croatia, is expected to begin in the first quarter of this year. EUR 105 million have already been set aside for the works planned for this year.