Serbia's government plans to issue guarantees on loans with a total value of 169 million euro ($207 million) extended to state-owned monopoly Srbijagas for the expansion of the gas distribution network in the country, it said.
The government plans to issue state guarantees on loans of 75 million euro provided by Banca Intesa, as well as 28 million euro and 66 million euro loans extended by OTP Banka, documents posted on the website of Serbia's government last week showed.
The financing will be used by Srbijagas to accelerate the expansion of its gas distribution network in the districts of Kolubara, Bor, Zajecar, Pcinja and Jablanica, as well as for the construction of the Belgrade-Loznica, Leskovac-Vranje and Paracin-Prahovo pipelines.
"Gasification is a strategic project that would, in addition to environmental protection, create conditions for attracting foreign investors in these areas because they bypass them due to lack of gas supply," the government said.
According to Serbian media reports, there are about a million households in Serbia that use solid fuel to heat their homes, and with the investments, their number would be halved by the end of 2022.
(SeeNews, May 26, 2021)
