Russia has finished laying the first line of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, Reuters reported President Vladimir Putin as saying at an economic forum on Friday, 4 June.
Nord Stream 2 comprises two parallel 48-inch lines, approximately 1,200 kilometers long, each starting southwest of St. Petersburg and ending at Greifswald on the German coast.
Earlier today it was reported that the gas pipeline is more than 95 per cent complete with just 100 kilometers left to build.
At the end of May, pipelayer Fortuna started work on the last 30 kilometers of pipes in German waters. It previously worked on Nord Stream 2 pipelaying off Denmark and was later joined by the Akademik Cherskiy.
After completing its stint in Germany, the vessel will rejoin the Akademik Cherskiy to continue work off Denmark.
The $11 billion-worth Nord Stream 2 will have the capacity to transport 55 billion cubic meters of Russian gas a year to the EU, for at least 50 years.
The plan is to have the pipeline complete by the end of the year.