EU launches investigation into Fehmarn Belt financing model

The European Commission said it will investigate the public financing for the Fehmarn Belt link to see if it in line with state aid rules. The announcement follows the European Union General Court's annulment of a previous Commission decision approving the support. "Today's opening of such an investigation is an invitation for all stakeholders to provide their input, which will allow the Commission to adopt a new, well-informed final decision,” said Margrethe Vestager, EU Competition Commissioner.
June 21, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

The 2465 European Commission said it will investigate the public financing for the Fehmarn Belt link to see if it in line with state aid rules.

The announcement follows the 1116 European Union General Court's annulment of a previous Commission decision approving the support.

"Today's opening of such an investigation is an invitation for all stakeholders to provide their input, which will allow the Commission to adopt a new, well-informed final decision,” said Margrethe Vestager, EU Competition Commissioner.

This financing model is likely to see European Union support of just under €421 million for the project which has an overall cost of around the €8.7 billion.

The Fehmarn Belt is a strait between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. The tunnel will replace a ferry service from Rødby and Puttgarden. Construction of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link between Denmark and Germany should start this autumn for completion in 2028, according to the 1035 Danish government.

Danish company 4782 Femern, which is responsible for the construction of the link, will begin negotiations with two contractor consortiums for the first of the project’s works which will start on the Danish side. A tunnel element fabrication yard and a works harbour must be built in Rødbyhavn, as well as a tunnel portal on Lolland.

The fixed immersed tunnel 18km link across the Fehmarnbelt will carry a four-lane motorway alongside a twin track-electrified railway. It will be more than five times the length of the tunnel under Øresund linking Denmark and Sweden and more than three times the length of the record-holding Trans-Bay Tube Bart Tunnel in San Francisco in the 972 US state of California.

Vehicle passage through the tunnel at 110kph is expected to take around 10 minutes. Duration of the train journey between Hamburg in northern Germany and the Danish capital  Copenhagen will be cut from about four and a half hours to three, according to engineering consultant 6801 Ramboll which is collaborating with 8624 Tunnel Engineering Consultants (TEC) og 1419 Arup. 6801 Ramboll is advising Fehmarn on the design of the immersed tunnel solution.

Project information is available on the project’s official website, %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external www.femern.com false https://femern.com/en false false%>

Finance & Funding

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • The M-10 motorway to be a first PPP for Belarus
    July 3, 2019
    As Belarus opts for its first PPP, contractors should take note of contract nuances when working in CIS countries, explains Ove Arup’s Steve Gilpin Belarus is part of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a regional governmental organisation of 10 ex-Soviet bloc countries. The CIS includes Russia as well as Turkmenistan which is an associate member. Some countries, including Georgia, were part of the CIS but have left the organisation. Arup’s projects in CIS countries have been commissioned by
    Read More
  • Melbourne link: Hyder and Parsons Brinckerhoff to be design team
    October 22, 2014
    Hyder and Parsons Brinckerhoff have been appointed as the design team for the US$5.97 billion East West Link in Melbourne, Australia. The two engineering and management consultancies are in a 50/50 joint venture to provide detailed design and construction support services for the 6.6km Stage 1 work, which is the eastern section, of the project. Together with the proposed western section, the completed East West Link will cost around $7 billion. The toll road will form an 18km cross-city connection ext
    Read More
  • HeidelbergCement investigates the binding of CO² in minerals
    August 1, 2017
    German building materials producer HeidelbergCement and Aachen2222 University of Applied Sciences are investigating the absorption of CO² from flue gas by olivine and basalt. The carbonised minerals could be used as a value-added additive in the production of building materials.
    Read More
  • E&E Event 2018 in Berlin: an asphalt industry fit for purpose
    May 15, 2018
    The provisional programme is now available for this year’s Euroasphalt and Eurobitume Event in Berlin. June 14-15. The focus of E&E 2018 will be on the preparations needed by the asphalt industry to ensure that it is fit for purpose in the future. Important strategic issues will be explored, some of which were highlighted in the E&E Congress 2016. These include the increasingly stringent economic aspects of supply and demand, the growing environmental issues over highway construction and use, health
    Read More

Highlighted Content