The Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline should be completed in a few weeks.
"We assume that the construction work will be finished by the end of August," said the CEO of Nord Stream 2 AG, Matthias Warnig, the "Handelsblatt".
“98 percent of the pipeline has now been completed.
The two percent that are still missing relate to one of the two strands.
The other line is completely built, ”explained Warnig.
The aim is to "put the natural gas pipeline into operation this year", affirmed the managing director.
Warnig rejected reports that there were problems with the certification of the work required by the licensing authorities.
"The end result will be a pipeline that meets all approval requirements and international industry standards," he said.
"Not the slightest doubt"
With a view to the future role of Ukraine as a transit country for Russian natural gas, Warnig said that he had "not the slightest doubt" that the transit "will also be an integral part of gas transport from Russia to Europe after 2024".
The existing transit agreement between Russia and Ukraine will end at the end of 2024.
"I assume that this has already been addressed by the German government in talks with Russia," said Warnig.
In essence, it is about how Ukraine can secure the billions in revenue from Russian gas transfer in the long term.
The federal government wants to endeavor to extend the contract at an early stage.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline runs from Vyborg in Russia through the Baltic Sea to Lubmin near Greifswald in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In the future, it will transport 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia to Germany per year. The project is controversial. The US government criticizes that Europe is making itself too dependent on Russia for its energy supply.