German nod sets Nord Stream build date

BERLIN, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Construction of the Nord Steam natural gas pipeline is on schedule following an approval by German environmental officials, directors said.

The German Federal Maritime and Hydrological Agency on Monday granted a permit for a 19-mile section of the pipeline. Germany on Dec. 22 granted its first Nord Stream permit for a 31-mile offshore leg.

That leaves Finland the only nation that has not granted approval for the natural gas pipeline. Matthias Warnig, the managing director of the Nord Stream pipeline consortium, said the project was still on schedule, Germany's Deutsche Welle news agency reports.

"We are firmly on schedule to start construction of the pipeline in spring 2010 and to start transporting gas in 2011," the director said.

Denmark, Sweden and Russia already backed the project formally.

The Monday permit is the final step for Germany to move forward with the $10.8 billion pipeline project.

Nord Stream will stretch 745 miles through the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea to Germany. The project, along with South Stream, is part of an effort by Russia to diversify its European transit options away from Ukraine.

Europe gets about 25 percent of its gas from Russia, though 80 percent of that volume travels through Soviet-era pipelines in Ukraine.

Kiev, along with Warsaw, said they were concerned Nord Stream would strip transit revenue away from their government coffers.

Russian gas giant Gazprom leads the Nord Stream consortium along with Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas and BASF-Wintershall.