German businessmen assessed the consequences of refusing to continue construction of the Russian gas pipeline “Nord stream-2”. Their words are reported by Tagesschau.
According to estimates of the head of the German gas Association Zukunft Erdgas Timm Koehler, the amount of investments written off due to the construction stop will amount to about eight billion euros. Gas consumers will have to pay for another four billion euros that were spent on connecting unused pipelines.
The head of the Eastern Committee of the German economy, Oliver Hermes, said that the loss of all investments for individual European companies could cost billions of euros. In addition, abandoning the project will result in the loss of jobs. The situation risks being particularly difficult in East Germany. Because of reduced gas supplies, prices will rise significantly, he warned.
Earlier, Germany proposed to boycott Nord stream 2, imposing a two-year moratorium on its implementation. This is allegedly necessary because of the situation with Alexey Navalny, which Berlin accuses Moscow of.
Initially, the construction of Nord stream 2 was supposed to be completed at the end of 2019. However, due to us opposition, the work had to be postponed. In particular, foreign companies that are able to provide a pipe-laying vessel for the project are facing the threat of sanctions.