Serbia May Start Work on South Stream Pipeline by End of Year

Serbia may start construction on its portion of the South Stream pipeline by the end of 2011, according to the general director of the state-owned gas company Srbijagas.

Speaking at an energy conference, Dusan Bajatovic told delegates that country could begin construction on the pipeline in the coming months.

"I expect that, by the end of the year, since we are about a year ahead of other partners, we’ll be in the position to begin construction of the geostrategic energy project," he is reported by Bloomberg News as saying.

Last week, Chief Executive of Gazprom, Alexei Miller, said that a management committee had found that the pipeline was progressing as planned. "The entire project is progressing in full compliance with the schedule and we are confident that South Stream will be commissioned on time," he said in a statement.