Serbia and Bulgaria have completed a pipeline project that aims to reduce reliance on Russian gas by providing diversification of supply, Bloomberg reports.
The pipeline spans 170 km from the Serbian city of Nis to the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, with an annual capacity of 1.8bn cu.m. That could cover as much as 60% of Serbia's consumption.
The new link will enable Serbia to access alternative gas supplies from Greece or Azerbaijan, while also providing Bulgaria with access to gas from Western Europe or the Adriatic Sea.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony in Nis on 10 December. Work on the project started in February.