Bulgaria has started construction of a natural gas pipeline with neighboring Serbia and Russia that will allow gas from alternative sources to flow to Belgrade and increase security of supply in southeastern Europe.

"APA-Economics" informs about this with reference to "Reuters" agency.

"This project provides new opportunities for real diversification and security of supply to the region.

We are expanding access to European markets.

Serbia has access to new sources of gas from the Southern Gas Corridor and liquefied natural gas terminals in the Aegean Sea," said Bulgarian President Rumen Radev at the opening ceremony attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.

Bulgarian Energy Minister Rossen Hristov said that the 170-kilometer (106-mile) gas pipeline from Novi Iskar, Bulgaria to Nis, Serbia, is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year.

Officials said that Bulgaria, which has been considering the project since 2012, plans to complete a 62-kilometer section on its territory by the end of October.

Serbia, which started construction in February last year, will be ready by autumn.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan currently exports gas to Bulgaria.

The commercial operation of the Greece-Bulgaria connecting pipeline, which delivers Azerbaijani gas to Bulgaria, started on October 1 last year.

It should be noted that Bulgaria's "Bulgargaz" company, within the framework of the "Shahdeniz-2" project, and the "Shahdeniz" consortium will pay 1 billion per year.

signed an agreement on the transportation of cubic meters of gas.

From December 31, 2020, Azerbaijan started exporting gas to Europe through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

This pipeline runs through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea to southern Italy.