(Bloomberg) -- The start of Germany’s Mukran liquefied natural gas terminal on the country’s Baltic coast will be delayed until the end of February to complete construction that was interrupted by storms.

Pipeline operator Gascade Gastransport GmbH’s plan for the two-month extension was approved by the local government, according to documents published Tuesday. Europe’s largest economy has fast-tracked the setup of LNG terminals last year to replace Russian pipeline gas, and the project in Mukran is seen as key to securing flows in the winter.

The privately operated facility on the island of Ruegen was planned to start operations by the end of last year. But cyclone Babet in mid-October interrupted construction of about half of the 50-kilometer (31-mile) pipeline connecting the processing plant to the mainland, according to the documents. 

The storm caused sand to fill the pipe trench, which had to be re-excavated before the line could be laid, a Gascade spokesman said. Works are now taking place on about 7 kilometers of the project, he said.

Terminal operator Deutsche Regas didn’t provide information on a specific start date. Prior to commissioning, the liquefied gas will be stored in the facility’s storage tanks, but it won’t be regasified until it can be transported via pipeline to the mainland, a spokesman wrote via email. 

The German government still expects the unit to start this winter, an Economy Ministry spokesman said. 

Meanwhile, the group Environmental Action Germany said it filed a complaint with the Federal Administrative Court and requested an immediate halt to the pipeline construction, arguing the extended works threaten protected seabirds and herring amid the spawning season. 

The Stralsund mining authority — which had approved the delayed construction — has said the environmental impacts weren’t serious.

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