MOSCOW, April 7 (UPI) -- Russian leaders are preparing for a Friday ceremony to commemorate the start of construction of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline, executives said.
The Nord Stream consortium announced last week that the pipelay vessel Castoro 6 was moored off the coast of the Swedish island of Gotland in preparation for the laying of the first section of the natural gas pipeline.
Alexei Miller, the top executive at Gazprom, said a ceremony Friday would mark the launch of the construction of the 760-mile pipeline, Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti reports.
The report adds that Nord Stream was forced to change the route for the pipeline to allay environmental concerns raised by Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Littoral states in the Baltic Sea complained about the potential environmental damage from pipeline construction, which is complicated by World War II munitions strewn along the seabed.
Russia aims to diversify its gas transit options through the dual Nord Stream pipeline through the Baltic Sea to Germany. The project cleared a series of environmental and regulatory hurdles in 2009 and early this year, paving the way for the start of construction.
The project through its dual pipelines will carry 1.9 trillion cubic feet of gas each year, which is enough for more than 26 million European households.
