South Stream Work in Serbia Ready Within Months

Construction of the South Stream pipeline in Serbia can start later this year, Serbian managers said.

Dusan Bajatovic, director of Juzni Tok Srbija company, stated that all conditions for the construction of the transnational pipeline  in Serbia have been fulfilled, so pipelaying can start before the end of 2013.

Bajatovic and Dragan Duncic, acting director of the Republic Agency for Spatial Planning, signed an agreement Monday on the draft of amendments to the Spatial Plan for Special-Purpose Areas - transnational pipeline South Stream through Serbia.

"With this document, we definitely have all necessary agreements for the start of construction of South Stream by the end of 2013," Bajatovic said, reported by newsagency Tanjug.

Duncic noted that late in 2012 the Serbian government adopted a spatial plan for South Stream, while early this year all project-related and other conditions were created for the plan to be amended to include other territories.

Russian gas giant Gazprom is co-ordinating the gas pipeline running under the Black Sea to the countries of southern and central Europe. In a Gazprom statement last month, the company predicted an earlier-than-expected start to work in Serbia. The project's progress on Serbia indicated"the parties' mutual interest in its execution", it said.

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