The construction permit for the 144 km long section of the gas interconnector on Serbia's territory is expected in mid-2026, and the works are planned to begin immediately after that, Djedovic Handanovic said in a press release on Friday, following a meeting in Belgrade with North Macedonia's minister of energy, mining and mineral resources Sanja Bozhinovska.
Djedovic Handanovic also stated that the goal is for the entire interconnection to be completed by the end of 2027, and become operational by the beginning of 2028. North Macedonia's section of the gas link will be 23 km long, according to a separate statement by energy, mining and mineral resources ministry in Skopje.
The construction of the gas interconnector will enable Serbia to connect with the Southern Gas Corridor, as well as the transmission of gas from Greece through North Macedonia to Serbia and further to Europe, local media in Belgrade quoted Djedovic Handanovic as saying on Friday.
The governments of Serbia and North Macedonia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the gas link in October 2024. Earlier this year, Serbia's natural gas importer and distributor Srbijagas and North Macedonia's gas transmission company Nomagas signed a MoU to advance the planned project.
Serbia, which currently gets most of its gas from Russia's Gazprom via the TurkStream extension through Bulgaria, and smaller quantities of Azeri gas through the interconnector with Bulgaria, also plans to build a 1.6 bcb gas interconnector with Romania.
In July, North Macedonia, which imports all of its gas from Gazprom through Bulgaria, launched the construction of its section of a gas interconnector with Greece.
(SeeNews, December 15, 2025)