Bozhinovska: North Macedonia joins the Vertical Gas Corridor

As of today, North Macedonia will join the Vertical Gas Corridor alongside Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova and Ukraine. Energy Minister Sanja Bozhinovska announced this ahead of her speech at the 6th Metropolitan Summit in Thessaloniki.

Bozhinovska said intensive work was underway on both the interconnector with Greece and the connection with Serbia.

“Today, I will take part in two important events. The first is the 6th Thessaloniki Metropolitan Summit, while the second is the 10th anniversary Southeast Europe Energy Forum. This is highly significant, as we will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding during the day. With this, our country will finally no longer remain outside the energy map but will be connected to the Vertical Corridor. Until now, the corridor was planned to run from Greece through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Slovakia, all the way to Moldova and Ukraine. As of today, we and the Republic of Serbia will also become part of this energy project,” she said.

The minister stressed that the goal is for the country to be ready to transit gas through its territory by the end of next year. According to her, completing the connections will make it possible to secure larger quantities and avoid dependence on a single supply point.

“We are working intensively on the interconnector with Greece and on linking it to Serbia. This means that by the end of next year, we should be ready for gas to transit through our country and, of course, to secure larger quantities so that we do not rely on just one connection. We will thus have a second border crossing through which we can be supplied with LNG,” Bozhinovska said.

According to her, joining the project will provide the country with another supply alternative.

“Until now, we have had only one connection with the Republic of Bulgaria, while more than approximately 85 percent of its capacity has been leased to Gazprom under long-term agreements. A second opportunity will now open up: connections with Alexandroupolis and Revithoussa. In this way, we can become a hub that will also supply Southeast Europe with gas,” Bozhinovska said.