Preparations for the construction of the Serbian section of the South Stream pipeline go according to plan and it is early to speculate about any new potential routes, Gazprom stated to Serbian medias.
“It is early to speculate about potential new routes of the South Stream, because the negotiations on the regulatory issues related to the project in various local and European levels are still ongoing”, say in Gazprom responding to a question whether there is a possibility that South Stream bypasses Serbia.
The company South Stream Ltd, as pointed out, supervises the construction of the Serbian part of the pipeline and the preparations for construction are carried out according to plan.
“The route of the South Stream was chosen after several years of detailed geological, geophysical and economic research. Chosen route proved to be the most viable for commercial, environmental, socio-economic and technical criteria”, say in Gazprom.
Some Serbian media, referring to the Russian portal “Vzgljad” (View), transferred that the South Stream gas pipeline, rather than through Bulgaria and Serbia, could go through Turkey and Greece to Italy and Austria, if Bulgaria continued to interfere with the pipeline construction.
Asked whether the work suspension on South Stream through Bulgaria can affect the delay of works in Serbia, in the Russian company states that it is “too early to speak about possible significant delays in the construction of such a large and complex project”, and repeats that preparations for the construction of Serbian sections of the pipeline are implemented according to plan.
The Bulgarian Ministry of Economy and Energy decided on Monday that all work on the South Stream pipeline project should be suspended until the project is fully compliant with European regulations.
