February 6 saw the management of Femern A/S handed the signed German planning approval decision in Kiel, effectively green lighting the construction of the $8bn, 18.2km long Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, the longest immersed tube tunnel in the world.
“This is another important step for us as we work towards completing the Fehmarnbelt tunnel, and it shows that the project is a priority in Schleswig-Holstein,” says Claus F. Baunkjær, CEO of Femern A/S.
Although the approval from the German authorities may be appealed against at the Federal Administrative Court of Leipzig, Femern A/S and the company’s German advisors are well prepared to assist the German approval authority in Kiel should such a court proceeding take place.
The German approval relates exclusively to the construction work on the German side. Activities on the Danish side are regulated by the Danish Construction Act for the Fehmarnbelt project.
Construction work on the Fehmarnbelt tunnel has been organised so that a new work harbour at Rødbyhavn on Lolland and a factory to produce the 89 tunnel elements that will be the main components of the immersed tunnel, are built first. Development of the site at Rødbyhavn, where the tunnel element factory will be located, is in full swing.
In March 2018, the political parties supporting the Fehmarnbelt link project in the Danish parliament entered into a political agreement to advance concrete preparatory activities, i.e. site development at Rødbyhavn. These activities are being financed within the overall construction budget and cover (for example) environmental measures, archaeologicalinvestigations and installation of an electricity and water supply in the production area at Rødbyhavn on Lolland.
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