Serbia is advancing a gas-infrastructure programme valued at approximately €1 billion, with the first investment expected to cover the initial section of the Niš-Velika Plana pipeline.
The programme is being prepared with World Bank support and is intended to modernise Serbia’s transmission network, strengthen institutional capacity and improve regional interconnection. Later phases are expected to include additional pipeline sections, compressor stations and expanded underground storage.
The Niš-Velika Plana corridor would improve the integration of supply entering Serbia through its cross-border interconnections. It would also strengthen the connection between southern and central parts of the country, where existing network limitations can constrain access for industrial consumers and municipalities.
Mining and Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović said the programme could support Serbia’s ambition to become a regional gas-transit centre. Greater throughput would create potential transit revenue, but the more immediate economic benefit would be increased supply flexibility and improved access in southern and eastern Serbia.
The investment follows a broader diversification strategy. Serbia’s gas system has historically been shaped by a limited number of supply routes and a high dependence on Russian gas. The interconnector with Bulgaria created access to the Southern Gas Corridor and LNG entering through Greece, but domestic infrastructure must be reinforced before diversified supply can be distributed efficiently across the country.
Storage expansion is equally important. Additional underground capacity would allow Serbia to purchase gas during lower-price periods, maintain strategic reserves and cover short-term interruptions. Compressor investment would raise operational flexibility and enable higher volumes to move between border points and domestic demand centres.
The government plans to establish a working group including the Ministry of Mining and Energy, Gas Infrastructure, Transportgas, Srbijagas and other public bodies. The group will coordinate project preparation before the World Bank formally approves financing.
The financing structure will need to reconcile security-of-supply objectives with long-term demand uncertainty. Industrial gas consumption could increase as new users connect to the network, while European decarbonisation policy may limit growth beyond the next decade. Pipeline sizing, tariff design and contracted capacity will determine whether the programme produces a durable infrastructure return or leaves the system with underused assets.
Serbia’s €1 billion envelope places gas infrastructure alongside electricity networks and renewable integration as a major capital priority. The first pipeline section will test whether the country can convert regional transit ambitions into a financially disciplined and operationally coherent network programme.
