The 3rd International Central European Development Forum (CEDEF) opened on Friday in Niš, southern Serbia, in cooperation with the Russian Federation.
The gathering is entitled, “Energy supply and energy safety in South East Europe”.
The forum is organized by the Serbian Ministry of Energy, Development and Environmental Protection, the Trade Office of the Russian embassy and the Serbian state-owned electric power company EPS.
The goal of the forum is to acquaint professionals and the public with the opportunities for ensuring a safe energy supply through revitalization, modernization and capacity building, as well as investments in renewable energy sources and implementation of energy efficiently measures.
Participants will discuss lines of credit and financial placements of commercial banks, and representatives of the financial sector will meet with project managers.
The forum was opened by Energy Minister Zorana Mihajlović.
According to estimates of the Institute of Energy of South East Europe (IENE), EUR 240 billion needs to be invested in the energy sector in South East Europe by 2020, which will allow gas from the Middle East, central Asia and the Caspian region to reach EU consumers faster.
Around EUR 55 billion from this total will be invested in the oil sector, around EUR 90 billion in electric energy, EUR 24 billion in gas and EUR 20 billion in renewable energy.
Serbia needs investments of around EUR 1.5 billion to build power plants and gas infrastructure, and modernize refineries, and another EUR 600 million to develop renewable energy sources.
Source B92
