LANTIS, the project developer responsible for the prestigious ‘Oosterweel link’, which will complete the Antwerp Ring Road, has awarded the contract for the construction of the Scheldt tunnel to the Tijdelijke Handelsvennootschap Combinatie Oosterweeltunnel (THV COTU) consortium.
THV COTU is composed of the Belgian construction groups DEME, BESIX, BAM Contractors and Jan De Nul. The contract value is €570M, with a BAM Contractors’ share of 25 per cent.
Known as the jewel in the crown of this crucial infrastructure project, the Scheldt tunnel will be the most important connecting element in the Oosterweel link and closes the Antwerp Ring Road on the north side. The tunnel has a total length of 1,800m and will be built using the ‘immersed tube’ method.
Eight tunnel elements of approximately 60,000 tonnes each will be built in the inner port of Zeebrugge and then towed to Antwerp via the North Sea and the Western Scheldt, where they will be immersed in a pre-dredged trench in the River Scheldt in Antwerp.
The first preparatory work will start in the autumn of 2020. Construction work for the tunnel itself will begin after the summer of 2021.
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