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Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced Sunday, Feb. 15, plans to build a natural gas power plant near the southern city of Nis with Azerbaijani support, saying the facility could become operational by 2029 with an initial installed capacity of 500 megawatts.
Vucic formally welcomed Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, on Sunday with a ceremony at the Palace of Serbia.
The visit coincided with the inaugural session of the Serbia-Azerbaijan Strategic Partnership Council, after which the two leaders addressed a joint press conference.
Stressing that Serbia has strong relations with Azerbaijan, Vucic said the planned power plant would be built with Baku’s backing.
“In the first phase, we will start with an installed capacity of 500 megawatts. Aliyev said he would be personally involved in the project. You would not believe it, but Azerbaijan built a natural gas power plant with an installed capacity of 1,890 megawatts and did it in just two years,” Vucic said.
He added that Serbian companies would also take part in the project.
“This project could be a starting point for what we need to do in the future. We should even consider building more natural gas power plants. We should even think about small nuclear plants, data centers, and everything else,” he said.
Vucic said he believes the gas-fired plant could be operational in 2029.
Serbia remains heavily dependent on Russian gas and has struggled to secure a long-term supply contract since a three-year agreement expired last summer, relying instead on rolling extensions. Vucic has previously expressed frustration with the situation.
Serbia agreed to extend a gas supply arrangement with Russia by three months, Vucic said last December, as it continues efforts to reach a longer-term deal.
Despite being a candidate for European Union membership, Serbia maintains close ties with Russia and purchases gas at below-market prices.
According to Serbia’s gas company, Russia supplies about 6 million cubic meters per day at roughly 290 euros per 1,000 cubic meters, compared with a market price closer to 360 euros.
Serbia also imports gas from Azerbaijan and produces gas domestically, but not in sufficient quantities to offset a potential loss of Russian supply.
Aliyev confirmed Azerbaijan’s long-term commitment to cooperation with Serbia in the energy and transportation sectors, emphasizing the importance of domestic energy generation.
“Azerbaijan recently started supplying natural gas to Serbia. Today, we also agreed to increase export volumes and to convert natural gas into electricity. In this way, we will both have clean energy for the domestic market and create export opportunities for Serbia in the near future,” Aliyev said.
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He added that Azerbaijan is ready to make significant investments in Serbia, including the construction of power plants and the modernization of existing facilities.
Aliyev said the planned natural gas power plant in Serbia would be among Azerbaijan’s largest investments in Europe.
Beyond energy infrastructure, the two leaders also discussed deepening defense cooperation.
During Aliyev’s visit, a preliminary agreement envisaging the construction of the natural gas power plant was signed, along with six additional agreements covering food security, telecommunications, the economy, health, sports and culture.
Vucic said Azerbaijan has consistently supported Serbia, underscoring the strategic nature of the bilateral partnership.
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