A shareholder agreement for the development, construction, and operation of a gas‑fired power plant in the Serbian city of Niš is expected to be signed in the coming weeks between Serbia's Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) and the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Report's Balkan bureau informs, citing Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović during a meeting with Niš Mayor Dragoslav Pavlović.
The parties discussed the activities being carried out under the project to build the gas‑fired power plant in Niš.
Đedović Handanović emphasised that the plant's construction is planned to be completed by 2030. "Work has begun on the preparation and alignment of planning documents. Niš's spatial plan has already been adopted, which provides a basis for further work on planning documents. At a meeting of all relevant parties involved in the project, we had the opportunity to receive information from the designer about the main activities and the implementation schedule to be carried out until the end of 2030. It is precisely in that year that the completion of the plant's construction is planned. The new facility will increase the reliability of electricity supply and strengthen Serbia's energy stability, while also contributing to improved heating supply for the residents of Niš."
The minister stressed that it is essential for all participants to be fully mobilised to ensure that all necessary measures for project preparation are implemented as quickly as possible. "This process also includes the establishment of a joint venture between EPS and SOCAR. The process of finalising the shareholder agreement between EPS and SOCAR for the future joint company is currently under way, and the document is expected to be signed in the coming weeks."
Niš Mayor Dragoslav Pavlović stated that the city administration and all local institutions are fully committed to the project's preparation and to taking all necessary steps to ensure construction begins as soon as possible.
It should be noted that in early June, EPS and SOCAR signed a document in Baku defining the main terms of cooperation for the development, construction, and operation of the gas‑fired power plant in Niš. The document outlines the key principles for establishing a joint stock company for the project's preparation and implementation, as well as the main commercial aspects of future cooperation.
Đedović Handanović recalled that the Niš gas‑fired power plant is a strategic project carried out within the framework of cooperation between Serbia and Azerbaijan. The intergovernmental agreement on this project was signed in February this year in Belgrade, in the presence of the presidents of both countries.
https://report.az/en/energy/eps-socar-preparing-shareholders-agreement-for-ni-gas-power-plant-project