Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović and Prime Minister of Romania and Acting Minister of Energy Ilie Bolojan signed a memorandum of understanding today in Bucharest on facilitating the exchange of information regarding the Đerdap 3 pumped storage hydropower plant project. The two countries have formed a working group, she added.
The Đerdap 3 project for a pumped storage hydropower plant is the largest one in energy that Serbia is developing and it has the potential to be the largest battery in the whole of Europe, according to Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović. She met in Romania with the neighboring country’s outgoing Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Energy Ilie Bolojan.
They signed a memorandum of understanding on facilitating the exchange of information regarding the said project.
“It will bring multiple benefits to Serbia, possibilities for significant electricity storage, a favorable position for electricity balancing and the integration of cleaner energy sources, as well as the stability of our grid, and all of this is of exceptional importance for the oncoming era of electricity. I am convinced that the document we signed today represents a major step forward in the continuation of cooperation that has lasted for more than six decades and has been one of the key pillars of the security of electricity supply for the citizens and economies of both countries, primarily thanks to the joint utilization of the potential of the Danube and the Đerdap hydroelectric power plants,” said Đedović Handanović.
She emphasized the importance of dialogue with the Romanian side for ensuring the necessary conditions for the successful materialization of this project, primarily through the timely exchange of information and coordination of all issues significant for its implementation.
Đerdap 3 project is part of strategic cooperation with US
Đedović Handanović stated that preliminary studies and analyses have been completed. “This year, Serbia is starting work on spatial planning documentation, as well as on a part of the design and technical documentation, while the joint working group formed with the Romanian side ensures the regular exchange of information and technical data significant for the realization of the project,” the minister said.
She recalled that the Đerdap 3 project is being developed in accordance with the agreement on strategic cooperation in the field of energy between Serbia and the United States.
The US and Serbia are beginning a strategic dialogue tomorrow, including energy infrastructure and energy security
“Based on that agreement, a public call was issued for expressions of interest from companies that could participate in the project. Six companies responded to the call, and the evaluation of the submitted applications is currently underway, and we will complete it very quickly. We will continue to deepen cooperation with the United States of America through a strategic dialogue, which begins tomorrow and within which we expect the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Serbia and the US on energy infrastructure and regional energy security,” the minister stated.
She stressed that Serbia and Romania have a long-standing tradition of good-neighborly and friendly relations, especially in hydropower.
“Relying on long-standing cooperation, today we signed another agreement of exceptional importance for the further deepening of the partnership in the field of energy that has lasted since as early as 1963, when the then Yugoslavia and Romania signed an agreement on the construction and exploitation of the Đerdap hydropower and navigation system on the Danube. That historic agreement established the joint Yugoslav-Romanian commission for Đerdap,” said Đedović Handanović and added that the joint commission has held 104 sessions so far, the last of which was in November 2025. It testifies to the continuity and strength of long-standing cooperation in the field of energy, she asserted.
Serbia to connect to BRUA gas corridor in 2027
Đedović Handanović noted that a memorandum of understanding was also signed for the construction of the Serbia-Romania gas interconnector, with a capacity of at least 1.6 billion cubic meters per year, as was a memorandum of understanding between the national gas companies.
Serbia will next year complete the section of the gas pipeline from Mokrin to the Romanian border, 13.1 kilometers long, she pointed out. Serbia will that way be connected to the BRUA (Bulgaria-Romania-Hungary-Austria) gas corridor, thereby obtaining a new supply route and an additional source of natural gas already next year, the minister said.
Possibility of renewal of oil product pipeline between two countries
Đedović Handanović added that the reconstruction and reactivation of the pipeline for the transport of petroleum products between Serbia and Romania is being considered. The minister argued it would ensure safer and more efficient fuel transport.
She pointed out that the two countries have already connected their electricity transmission systems. “This connectivity was additionally upgraded with the completion of the section of the Trans-Balkan Corridor from Pančevo to the Romanian border. In addition, through the North Corridor projects, we plan to increase the cross-border transmission capacity on the Serbian-Romanian border by about 500 MW. The next goal is the coupling of our electricity markets,” she said.
The North CSE Corridor is a strategic electricity project of pan-European importance.
She concluded that in the coming years, Romania would be one of the most important energy partners of Serbia, especially because it is a friendly country that supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, as well as its process of European integration.
Bolojan prioritizes operation of Iron Gate complex, protecting coastal area, navigation
Bolojan placed an emphasis on succesful and longstanding cooperation of his country and Serbia in the energy sector, and highlighted the example of the joint complex Đerdap 1 and Đerdap 2. Of note, the name of the gorge and the hydropower plants in English is Iron Gate, while in Romanian it is (Porțile de Fier).
For Romania, it is important for the development of the new project is harmonized with the operation and production of those two systems, that the protection of coastal areas in Romania and Bulgaria is ensured, and that navigation on the Danube is taken care of, he said.
Iron Gate 1 and 2, on the Danube between the two countries, were built through joint efforts and divided, while Đerdap 3 would entirely be upstream and completely on the territory of Serbia.
“We are neighbors, we have shared infrastructure. We have shared interests and we face many of the same challenges. It is natural that we look together for solutions that strengthen the energy security and competitiveness of our economies,” Ilie Bolojan stated.
