The first pipes for Nord Stream 2 will be delivered in October

Without waiting for the full consent of the EU, the international consortium of energy companies Nord Stream 2 AG, which includes the Russian company Gazprom, will deliver the first batch of pipes for the construction of a gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea by the end of October, DPA reported. The new pipeline is expected to start operation in 2019.

The first batch of steel pipes will be delivered to the port of Sassnitz on the island of Rügen (Germany) at the end of the month. The pipes will be integrated with and ready to lie at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, writes DPA, citing a company spokesman.

In September, Nord Stream began supplying pipes to the Finnish coast. In addition, for the first time, both technical and environmental studies were carried out for the 1200 km route. According to the company, the project will be completed on time.

Around 150 new jobs have been created in Sassnitz. The steel pipes required for the pipeline are manufactured at Europipe Muehlheim an der Ruhr in West Germany.

DPA notes that the Nord Stream 2 construction project has sparked political controversy. The agency cites the opinion of the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, Norbert Roettgen, who believes that investment, both economically and politically, is a mistake. Although there are supporters of the project.

The project's shareholders are PJSC Gazprom, a division of the BASF concern, PEG Infrastruktur AG, Austrian OMV, Anglo-Dutch Shell and French ENGI. Gazprom Company 51% of the shares in the project. German companies 15.5% each. Dutch and French each own 9%.