Skip to main content

Challenges mount for the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link project

The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link between Danish and German islands faces ongoing delays that are pushing a construction start past this year and well into 2018. A meeting in mid-December between Danish traffic minister Ole Birk Olesen and his German counterpart Reinhard Meyer for the neighbouring German state of Schleswig-Holstein, highlighted mounting opposition against the €7 billion or more project. During the meeting, Meyer stressed that the Schleswig-Holstein government remains determined to implement
December 15, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link between Danish and German islands faces ongoing delays that are pushing a construction start past this year and well into 2018.

A meeting in mid-December between Danish traffic minister Ole Birk Olesen and his German counterpart Reinhard Meyer for the neighbouring German state of Schleswig-Holstein, highlighted mounting opposition against the €7 billion or more project.

During the meeting, Meyer stressed that the Schleswig-Holstein government remains determined to implement the project even if the construction work cannot start until 2020, according to a report by the Jyllands-Posten newspaper.

Last year the project was approved by the Danish parliament. It is supposed to be built, owned - apart from the German land works - and operated by 4782 Femern A/S, a subsidiary of Sund & Bælt Holding, and financed by loans guaranteed by the Danish government.

Last June, the Danish government awarded €4.4 billion worth of contracts for initial Fehmarn Tunnel work to an international consortium that includes German Wayss und Freytag Ingenieurbau, Max Bögl Stiftung and Netherlands-based BAM.

Contracts include the excavation and construction of underground tunnels, manufacture of internal tunnel elements and the entry and exit ramps.

Last summer, newspaper reports suggested that work was expected to start in 2019 at the earliest, although it remains subject to approval by German authorities. Approval could come next year.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Denmark: Fehmarn Tunnel contracts awarded to consortium
    June 3, 2016
    The Danish government has awarded €4.4 billion worth of contracts for the Fehmarn Tunnel that will link Germany and Denmark, according to Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. An international consortium that includes German Wayss und Freytag Ingenieurbau, Max Bögl Stiftung and Netherlands-based BAM picked up the work. Contracts include the excavation and construction of underground tunnels, manufacture of internal tunnel elements and the entry and exit ramps. Work is expected to star
  • VIDEO: Companies pre-qualify for Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link consulting
    November 3, 2016
    4782 Femern, the company charged with building what will be the world’s longest submerged tunnel, has prequalified companies for consulting work.

    The companies will be able to tender for two framework agreements, one for client consulting services and the other for technical in-house consulting services.

    Femern is responsible for building the 18km Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link immersed tunnel between Rødbyhavn in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany. The estimated cost has increased over the past several years to reach around €7.4 billion.
  • Denmark set to appoint preferred bidder for Fehmarnbelt link
    March 14, 2016
    The Danish political parties behind the Fehmarnbelt link have mandated Femern A/S to appoint preferred bidders for the main tunnel work in order to enter into conditional contracts no later than mid-May. Femern A/S is the Danish government-owned company managing the Fehmarn Belt immersed tunnel project between Denmark and Germany. The project was approved by the Danish parliament in April last year. It is supposed to be built, owned - apart from the German land works - and operated by Femern A/S, a su
  • Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link could open by 2025 at earliest
    November 27, 2015
    The ambitious Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link, connecting Denmark and Germany, will open in 2025 at the earliest, according to the Danish finance ministry. Femern A/S, the Danish government-owned company managing the project, confirmed the note from the government. It also said the ministry still has financial concerns over the deal to build an immersed tunnel connecting the towns of Rødby in Denmark’s southern Zealand with Puttgarden in northern Germany. Of particular is the time for a construction company t