April 26 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia's power utility company Elektrani na Severna Makedonija (ESM) will set up subsidiaries in Greece and Bulgaria for the procurement, distribution and trade of natural gas, the country's government said.
ESM will also continue to transport natural gas through the existing link with Bulgaria until the construction of the natural gas interconnector with Greece is completed, the government said in a statement on Tuesday.
In 2021, the governments of North Macedonia and Greece signed an agreement for the construction of a cross-border natural gas interconnector worth an estimated 100 million euro ($110.2 million). The construction is expected to be finalised by the end of 2024.
North Macedonia does not have natural gas deposits and relies on imports from Russia transited through Bulgaria under a gas supply contract with Gazprom that will expire in 2030.
($ = 0.907242 euro)