The project for gas interconnection between Bulgaria and Serbia envisages the construction of gas pipeline with the annual capacity of 1.8 billion cubic meters of gas. Length of the Bulgarian section of the pipeline, stretching from the border to capital Sofia, is 62 kilometers. State-owned natural gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz said that it has received eleven offers on the 73.6 million euros worth tender for the supply of equipment and construction Bulgarian section of gas interconnection to Serbia.
The statement from the company said that bids were submitted by nine consortia and local subsidiaries of Italian-based companies Arkad and Bonatti. The tender was launched in January. In January 2017, Bulgarian Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova and her Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Antic have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the project for the construction of gas interconnection between Bulgaria and Serbia. According to the MoU, both sides should pay maximum efforts in order to speed up activities on the project. The construction of the gas pipeline between the two countries should begin by May 2019. Initial plans envisaged that the pipeline should be completed by the end of 2020.