Construction of the Nord Stream Pipeline started in April 2010 in Swedish waters (Baltic Sea). In November 2009, the Swedish and Finnish governments granted permits to utilise their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) for the Nord Steam pipeline through the Baltic Sea. Finland had given its preliminary environmental approval for the pipeline in July 2009. The 1,220-km long natural gas pipeline will pass through 506 km and 374 km of the Swedish and Finnish EEZ respectively. The Nord Stream project plans to join Vyborg in Russia to Greifswald on the German coast via the Baltic Sea. The permits issued by the Swedish and Finnish governments are two of the five national permits needed for the project. Denmark was the first country to grant a construction permit on 20 October 2009 to lay a 137-km gas pipeline through its waters. The first pipeline, with a capacity of 27.5 bcm/year will be operational in 2011 while the second one, doubling the capacity, is due for completion in 2012. The consortium completed Phase I financing of the project in early 2010 (3.9bn). Half of the gas planned to be transported is covered by sale contracts in January 2010. The total cost of the project is currently estimated at 8.8bn.