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epa05662430 A worker inspects stacks of pipes weighing several tons each which will be used for the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Sassnitz-Mukran harbour in northeastern Germany, 06 December 2016. The first sections of the 1,200 kilometer pipeline were delivered in late October 2016. Around 2,000 of a total 90,000 steal pipe components are currently being stored on the island of Ruegen. According to the Gazprom subsidiary Nord Stream 2 AG, the assembly works will begin in mid-2017. So far the political controversial pipeline, which will have a total capacity of some 55 billion cubic meters, has not recieved building permission. EPA/JENS BUETTNER