Skip to main content

NCC picks up Eysturoy and Sandoy tunnel contracts in the Faroes

Swedish construction company NCC has signed a contract to build two sub-sea road tunnels in the Faroe Islands, an archipelago north of Scotland. The first project – the Eysturoy Tunnel between Eysturoy and Streymoy - will cost around €152 million. The value of second one – the Sandoy Tunnel between Streymoy and Sandoy – will cost about €120 million, but there is an option for the government-owned client, P/F Eystur- och Sandoyartunlar (EST), not to proceed. The government created the company, Eystur – og
November 15, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Sub-sea roundabout in planned Eysturoy Tunnel
Swedish construction company 5211 NCC has signed a contract to build two sub-sea road tunnels in the Faroe Islands, an archipelago north of Scotland.

The first project – the Eysturoy Tunnel between Eysturoy and Streymoy - will cost around €152 million.

The value of second one – the Sandoy Tunnel between Streymoy and Sandoy – will cost about €120 million, but there is an option for the government-owned client, P/F Eystur- och Sandoyartunlar (EST), not to proceed.

The government created the company, Eystur – og Sandoyartunlar, specifically to construct the two subsea tunnels, including connecting road and to operate the tunnels, in addition to any other business related to the activity.

The rugged Faroe Islands are where the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean meet, and lie halfway between Norway and Iceland - 320km north-northwest of mainland Scotland.

They cover around 1,400km² with a population of close to 50,000 and are an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark. The Faroes have a sub-polar oceanic climate but temperatures often remain above freezing in winter due to the Gulf Stream of warm water flowing up from the far-off Caribbean.

The country’s six main islands, with around 90% of the population, are connected by road. There are also 17 land tunnels. The various islands are connected by two underwater tunnels, in addition to three bridges and seven ferry lines.

The 11km Eysturoy Tunnel will connect the towns of Skálafjørður and Tórshavn. According to the company, the tunnel will run under the Bay of Skálafjørður using two tunnels that connect to a roundabout under the seabed at mid-way. In order to increase safety, no inclination in the tunnel will be steeper than 5% and the lowest point is to be 187m below sea level.

The 10.6km Sandoy tunnel will connect the island of Sandoy to the greater part of the Faroese infrastructure. Lowest point will be 157m below sea level and, similar to the Eysturoy tunnel, the steepest inclination will be 5%.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Nigeria’s Eko Atlantic project: a city on the sea
    September 27, 2013
    Imagine a megapolis rising, Atlantis-like, from the sea. An urban development similar in size to New York’s Manhattan that boasts thriving business and residential districts to help transform not just a city but an entire country. It sounds like the stuff of science fiction. But the Eko Atlantic project in Lagos, Nigeria, is real and has become one of the most dazzling and most discussed construction developments in the entire world. One hundred years ago, the area of land on which the new city will be bu
  • Costs climb for constructing Mexican tunnel
    August 20, 2014
    Climbing costs are afflicting the construction of the key Coatzacoalcos tunnel connection in Mexico. Concesionaria Tunel de Coatzacoalcos is the firm handling the construction and concession for the Coatzacoalcos immersed tunnel. The company claims that costs have climbed 150%, from US$153.23-$383.1 million. Concesionaria Tunel de Coatzacoalcos is controlled by Spanish construction firm FCC Construcciones and says that the climbing costs are caused by delays due to the climate, problems purchasing land and
  • Keeping tunnels safe
    July 20, 2012
    In 2006 Traficon won the first project on the world's first artificial island, the iconic Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, to provide incident detection and traffic data collection along the main arterial road. The technology used included 18 detection units and was won with Siemens Building Technology. The company also won the contract for the tunnel: 26 detection units, in cooperation with Japanese Kinden Corporation. "The Palm Jumeirah vehicular tunnel is in fact the third tunnel (the others are the airport tunne
  • Polaqua signs S6 dual carriageway deal and Tri-City contract
    April 9, 2018
    Polish contractor Polaqua has signed a deal worth €193 million to design and build a 20km section of S6 dual carriageway. Completion is scheduled for mid-2021. Polaqua will also build a 3km section as part of the expansion of the ring road around the Tri-City area in northern Poland. Tri-City incorporates the three cities in Pomerania - Gdańsk, Gdynia and Sopot, as well as surrounding minor towns. They are situated along the coast of Gdańsk Bay on the Baltic Sea. The regional population is more than 1