Serbian
energy minister Aleksandar Antic said on Friday he expects financing for a gas
interconnection with Bulgaria to be agreed with the European Commission by the
end of 2015.
"We are coordinating with the Bulgarian side relevant
technical elements and I expect that we will agree funding for the project with
the European Commission by the end of the year," Antic said in a statement
published on the website of Serbia's energy ministry.
The official added
funds have already been allocated for the drafting of the necessary project
documents.
In February, Antic said the financial structuring of the
project for a Serbia-Bulgaria gas interconnector was expected to be conclusively
defined at a meeting of officials from the Western Balkans and the EU in Vienna
in August.
The planned bidirectional gas interconnector with Bulgaria
would diversify Serbia's supply options. The Balkan state currently has just one
gas supply route, coming via Ukraine and Hungary.
In December, the
Bulgarian economy ministry said work on the gas interconnector with Serbia will
be sped up after the announced cancellation earlier that month of the South
Stream gas pipeline project.
Gazprom Export delivered 1.14 billion cu m
of gas to Serbia in 2013 as part of a 10-year supply agreement.