Russia’s OAO Gazprom revived a massive contract to buy thousands of meters of steel pipes, suspended when President Vladmir Putin scrapped the South Stream pipeline to Europe last year.

The decision to resume purchases of more than 150,000 metric tons of pipe from German steelmaker Salzgitter AG’s Europipe venture shows Gazprom is near to starting an alternative project across the Black Sea, linking Russia with Turkey.

Europipe will start shipping pipes for the Turkey link because preparation work for construction has started, Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said by text message on Monday. The start date for pipe laying is yet to be announced, he said.