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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Government to provide necessary gas supply

Belgrade, 16 January 2009

Minister of Mining and Energy Petar Skundric said that the government will do all it can to provide the necessary gas supply, even after January 24, when the gas deliveries from Germany and Hungary will cease, in case Russia and Ukraine do not solve their dispute by then.

Petar Skundric

At a press conference held at the government building, Skundric said he expects the dispute between Russia and Ukraine to be solved by January 24.

He recalled that at yesterday’s session the government considered additional measures in order to provide enough gas for the upcoming period.

The Minister said that the agreements with the German company Eon and Hungarian company Mol concerning gas supply to Serbia have been extended to January 24, which means that Serbia will get 4.7 million cubic metres of gas daily until January 24.

Minister Skundric and Director General of Srbijagas Dusan Bajatovic will visit Moscow on January 17 in order to participate in a summit of Russian gas consumers.

The aim of the visit is to provide conditions for gas transit from Russia to Serbia and other European consumers as soon as possible.

Skundric said that the Serbian electric power industry Elektroprivreda Srbije will announce an international tender on January 20 concerning the construction of two electric power plants, Kolubara B and Nikola Tesla B, whose capacity will be 700 MGW each, adding that the overall investment will worth €2 billion.

These two investments will employ thousands of people, including 3,000 workers on the construction sites, he said, adding that the project should be finished within four to five years.

This project will help the company’s restructuring and increase its value, said Skundric.

Asked whether Serbia will introduce a full market price for electricity, Skundric replied that this will probably happen when these two thermal plants are finished.

General Manager of EPS Vladimir Djordjevic expressed assurances that the construction of these plants will start in 2010 as a strategic partner should be selected by the end of this year.

With average daily consumption of 122 million KWh, which rises up to 155 million, Serbia’s energy system is stable and Serbia is not importing electricity, Djordjevic said.