Construction of Fehmarn Belt Link could start in 2019

Construction of a Fehmarn Belt Link could start a year from now – more than a year ahead of schedule, according to Danish media reports. The timing was put forward by Holger Schou Rasmussen, chairman of Femernbælt Development, and Kristian Pihl Lorenzen, the Liberal Party spokesman for traffic issues. They reportedly said that a pending environmental court case in Germany that has stalled approval by German authorities won’t hold up construction of the 18km crossing as much as had been feared. As late as
February 27, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Portal area on the Danish island of Lolland (artist impression)

Construction of a Fehmarn Belt Link could start a year from now – more than a year ahead of schedule, according to Danish media reports.

The timing was put forward by Holger Schou Rasmussen, chairman of Femernbælt Development, and Kristian Pihl Lorenzen, the Liberal Party spokesman for traffic issues.

They reportedly said that a pending environmental court case in Germany that has stalled approval by German authorities won’t hold up construction of the 18km crossing as much as had been feared.

As late as last November, the Danish state planning and operating company 4782 Femern were saying that work on the €7 billion immersed tunnel under the Fehmarnbelt was likely to start in the summer 2020. Claus Baunkjaer, chief executive of Femern, said at the time that he is confident Germany will give approval next year with another two years of preparations.

Denmark has already given the green light to the road-rail project.

The Fehmarn Belt is a strait between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. Currently, a ferry connects the two islands. Final planning approval is expected in 2018 with project completion by 2028. But the approval process has been bogged down over environmental issues being considered by the German state of Schleswig-Holstein in which the southern end of 18km immersed tunnel will surface.

On top of the €7 billion construction cost for the tunnel, financing for another €1 billion is in place should it be needed for unexpected problems and delays. Denmark is completely responsible for financing the project that will replace a ferry service.

A Rambøll-Arup-TEC consultancy joint venture is engaged in a client consultancy services contract with Femern. The joint venture has also worked on other landmark infrastructure projects, including the Øresund Tunnel in Denmark, the City Tunnel in Malmö, Sweden, the Medway Tunnel in England, as well as underground rail systems in Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

2349 COWI is carrying out the detailed design of the tunnel (north tunnel section, south tunnel section, and ramps & portals). Meanwhile 3392 SWECO is handling the design for the dredging and reclamation work. 

A second framework contract, for technical support services to Femern, is being carried out by ÅF-Hansen & Henneberg.
Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Financial close reached for A9 Gaasperdammerweg motorway work
    November 25, 2014
    Financial close has been reached for expansion of the A9 motorway near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. BNG Bank, DZ BANK, ING, KBC, SMBC and Société Général have made available a short-term debt of US$174 million (€140 million) and half of the long-term debt of nearly $509 million (€410 million). The European Investment Bank will provide the other half of the long-term debt. Mott MacDonald is the lenders’ technical advisor to the consortium IXAS Zuid-Oost, which has the public-private contract to expand
    Read More
  • Denmark has “expertise” to deliver Malaysia Malacca Straits bridge
    January 16, 2014
    Ambitious plans to build the Malacca Straits bridge in Malaysia’s Malacca state have received a boost from a senior Danish diplomat. After meeting with Denmark's ambassador to Malaysia Nicolai Ruge, who said that his country had the engineering capacity and expertise to deliver the project, Malacca state’s chief minister, Idris Haron, said that it was possible the planned structure over the Malacca Straits could proceed. The idea of the 48.69km bridge – which would link Teluk Gong in Malacca with Dumai in
    Read More
  • Testing and striping underway for Seattle’s Alaskan Way tunnel
    August 31, 2018
    Crews have been working flat out on the Alaskan Way Tunnel in Seattle to install and test thousands of components and 90 interconnected systems. The client, Washing State Department of Transportation, said that Seattle Tunnel Partners began installation inside the double-deck State Route 99 tunnel in March after crews completed construction of the upper and lower roadways. STP said that testing could be complete by as early as late September and the tunnel could open as soon as this fall after an ap
    Read More
  • China looks to the future with major highway plans
    February 15, 2012
    China is still moving ahead with plans that will give it the world's biggest highway system. Patrick Smith reports. As China's economy grows even more, keeping the country on the move has become a priority for the government. While the country has made great strides over the past decade in improving its infrastructure, the number of vehicles has also increased rapidly, and in some instances restrictions have been placed on them.
    Read More

Highlighted Content