Bulgaria's South Stream Construction Price Could Soar
The Bulgarian stretch of the South Stream gas pipeline could go beyond 5.86 bln dollars previously estimated, a Russian daily argues.
Vedomosti bases its conclusions on the announcement made this week that the section to be built in neighboring Serbia will be worth 2.1 bln dollars, or 23.5% more than the expected price.
Vedomosti quotes a source related to Gazprom as saying it is a "usual" practice for the company to raise the cost of projects while working on them.
The daily thus claims that some 3.5 bln euro ($4.77 bln) that are to be set aside for South Stream in Bulgaria (according to government estimates) could prove insufficient and potentially rise to 4.3 bln euro.
The gas pipeline project has recently come under fire, as the EU and Russia are embroiled in a dispute over the compatibility of South Stream with the rules of Europe's Third Energy Package.