The pipeline, a joint project of Russia's Gazprom and Italy's Eni, is expected to carry 63 billion cubic metres of Russian natural gas per year under the Black Sea to the Bulgarian coast and further west into Europe. Slovenia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Greece are partners in the onshore section of the pipeline.
Serbia and Russia are due to sign off on October 29 on the final investment decision regarding the pipeline section across the Balkan country, Bajatovic said in a company statement issued on Saturday.
He added that Serbia is set to become the first European state to start work on the onshore section of the South Stream pipeline.