OAO Stroytransgaz to Build 121 km Gas Pipeline in Macedonia
OAO Stroytransgaz, a Russian engineering and construction company, has been commissioned to build a natural gas pipeline across Macedonia which could eventually be used as part of a route to supply Europe with Russian gas via Turkey.
In the first phase of the project Stroytransgaz will build a 61 km section from Klecovtse to Negotino that will allow gas to be delivered to the city of Stip. The construction of this section is planned to be completed in about a year. In the second phase another 60 km of pipeline will be built to Greece, thus enabling connection to western Europe's gas grid.
The estimated cost of the pipeline has been put at $75 million. Macedonia will pay $15 million and the remainder will be offset against debt owed by the former USSR to the former Yugoslav Federation, of which Macedonia was part.
According to a spokesman for Stroytransgaz, the project, born after the cancellation of South Stream, will proceed unhampered by any possible sanctions, as Macedonia is not part of the European Union.