Budapest hosted yesterday a working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary.
The parties addressed a wide range of cooperation issues in the gas sector, placing special emphasis on the South Stream project.
It was noted that the project was progressing as per schedule and the gas pipeline construction was ongoing in Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia.
The South Stream Hungary Zrt joint project company and an international consortium of project companies signed a contract for design and survey activities as well as spatial planning and environmental impact assessment for the Hungarian section of the South Stream gas pipeline.
In the first quarter of 2014 it is expected to complete the technical part of the design documentation for determining a route for the Hungarian section. The talks confirmed that the construction of South Stream's Hungarian section would start in April 2015 and the first gas would come to Hungary in early 2017.
Alexey Miller and Viktor Orban stressed the importance of South Stream for developing the Hungarian gas transmission sector and economy, as well as for enhancing European energy security.
