WILHELMSHAVEN (GERMANY), 17 Dec. (DPA/EP) -

The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has witnessed this Saturday the inauguration and commissioning of the first natural gas regasification plant in the country, located in Wilhelmshaven.

The plant has been erected in a record time of less than ten months, which shows that "our country is capable of new beginnings and great speed", highlighted Scholz.

Scholz was accompanied by the Minister of the Economy, Robert Habeck, and the Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, as well as the Prime Minister of Lower Saxony, Stephan Weil, and 400 other guests on board the ship 'Helgoland', regularly used for excursions tourist.

The floating terminal, located off the coast of Lower Saxony, seeks to make up for Germany's natural gas deficit by importing from abroad after the open crisis with Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

The key piece of the plant is a ship of almost 300 meters in length, the 'Höegh Esperanza', which will supply the regasified natural gas to the German supply network.

Four more regasification plants should be operating by the end of the year in Brunsbuettel (Schleswig-Holstein), Stade (Lower Saxony) and Lubmin (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), plus a fourth also located in Wilhelmshaven. Scholz approved the construction of the plants on February 27, three days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.