Prime Minister Boyko Borisov expressed his ambition to turn Bulgaria into a key state for the transit of natural gas in the region of Southeastern and Central Europe.

In an interview for Deutsche Welle, Borisov referred to the projected gas hub Balkan, which is planned for construction near the city of Varna.

The project foresees gas in the hub be supplied from Russia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan as well as from Bulgarian and Romanian deposits.

According to Borisov, the Bulgarian government and the European Commission are jointly developing the project and securing funding for it.

Bulgarian authorities point that the completion of the gas storage will contribute to the partial diversification of gas supplies to the EU.

The hub will distribute gas to Bulgaria, Romania and Serbia, with the plans foreseeing another 43 billion cubic metres to reach Central Europe.