The launch of the interconnector will operationalise the pipeline from the town of Novi Iskar in Bulgaria to the Serbian city of Nis, allowing Belgrade to access gas from Azerbaijan and the liquefied natural gas terminal in the Greek port of Alexandroupolis.

The capacity of the pipeline on the Serbian side is 1.8 cubic metres a year, which accounts for 60% of the country’s annual gas needs.

The European Commission donated €49.6 million for the construction of the interconnector. Another €25 million was secured in a single loan from the European Investment Bank while €22.5 million was provided by Serbia.

“With this interconnector, we are securing alternative gas supplies, apart from the Russian gas,” Serbia’s energy minister, Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic, said.

Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev and Bulgaria’s president Rumen Radev attended the ceremony in Nis.

“Today we are changing the energy map of Europe,” Radev said.

“The interconnector is significant for the entire region. The war in Ukraine made us think about good neighbourly relations and support.”

On Nov 15, Serbia signed a deal with Azerbaijan to purchase 400 million cubic metres of natural gas per year from 2024.