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

  • International Transport Forum: public vs private policy debate
    December 4, 2014
    Simply banning cars in parts of major cities will not necessarily greatly improve the air quality over time, a new report has found. The answer for cutting carbon emissions is to get the right balance of private and public transportation along with infrastructure developed to sustain the mix, according to the International Transport Forum (ITF), a think tank within the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The ITF evaluated the potential impact of transport policies on urban carbon
    Read More
  • Sany unveils SYG 5320 truck-mounted concrete pump
    January 6, 2017
    A truck-mounted concrete pump with five distributor mast arms for the 40m category, the SYG 5320 THB 42 with RZ5 placing boom has low-mounted roll fold and Z-fold. The model’s sturdy self-supporting basic frame has supporting arms at the front which have dual telescoping capability. The support can be swung out hydraulically at the rear and pivoted directly on the basic frame. This manoeuvre transfers the forces from the load torque of the placing boom directly to the rear supports, ensuring stable working
    Read More
  • Sany unveils SYG 5320 truck-mounted concrete pump
    April 12, 2012
    A truck-mounted concrete pump with five distributor mast arms for the 40m category, the SYG 5320 THB 42 with RZ5 placing boom has low-mounted roll fold and Z-fold. The model’s sturdy self-supporting basic frame has supporting arms at the front which have dual telescoping capability. The support can be swung out hydraulically at the rear and pivoted directly on the basic frame. This manoeuvre transfers the forces from the load torque of the placing boom directly to the rear supports, ensuring stable working
    Read More
  • TYROSAFE's gripping competition
    July 16, 2012
    An EC-funded project aims to coordinate research on essential tyre/road interaction parameters. A competition will help raise awareness of the project Drivers need grip between the tyres and the road to accelerate, decelerate or change the direction of a moving road vehicle. Grip is provided by the skid resistance properties of the road surface in combination with the friction characteristics of the tyre. This combination is critical for safe driving, and many European countries have investigated the corre
    Read More

Highlighted Content