Construction work on the 18km long fixed link tunnel under Fehmarnbelt linking Germany and Denmark is set to commence about a year later than originally planned – in the middle of 2015 instead of 2014. Femern A/S, the company responsible for the planning of the link, said the delay was due the planning approval process for such a large cross-border construction project in both Denmark and Germany proving even more complex than previously assumed.The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link is Northern Europe’s largest transport construction project and will connect Scandinavia with Germany and the rest of continental Europe. The preferred technical solution is an immersed tunnel with an electrified dual-track rail line and a four lane motorway.
Both in its dimensions and due to its character as a cross-border project between Germany and Denmark the project enters new ground. The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel must be approved in accordance with European as well as Danish and German regulations and procedures. Although they are based on the same EU directives to a significant extent, there are great differences between how the regulations are administered in the two countries. This requires more time than originally anticipated.
“The need for coordination and detailed planning is greater than we had expected,” said Leo Larsen, CEO, Femern A/S. “We have a highly constructive partnership with both the Danish and the German authorities, but nevertheless we have to recognise that this is a very challenging task for all parties. In part this is because of the substantial differences in the regulations and procedures between Denmark and Germany. We are in a situation with many unknown factors that have to be tackled as the applications to the authorities are prepared – and this takes time.”
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The new timetable means that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the coast-to-coast link in Denmark will commence in May 2013 and that Folketinget, the Danish parliament, will be able to pass a construction act for the project at the end of 2014. By then the contractual sums for the four major civil works contracts will be known.
In Germany, the authorities will receive the final application material no later than August 2013 after which the approvals are expected to be in place around the turn of the year 2014/2015.
In the autumn of 2012, Femern A/S will begin the process of selecting the contractor consortia that will be invited to tender for the major construction contracts. The contracts are expected to be signed in the summer of 2015.
The revised timetable affects only the current planning stage. The construction period for the immersed tunnel itself is still expected to be six and a half years. With the construction contracts expected to be signed in the summer of 2015, the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link should open towards the end of 2021.
The new timetable is unlikely to impact on the overall costs because those relating to the planning stage will be kept within the budget of EUR 376 million (2008 prices).
The construction estimate for the immersed tunnel remains at EUR 5.5 billion (2008 prices) and the repayment period for the entire Fehmarnbelt project, including the Danish landworks, is still 39 years.
So the EUR 5.5 billion in costs will be justified at an average rate of EUR 141,000,000 per year. Or 386,000 per day. Or 4.468 per second. But with tourist sites such as restaurants on each end that only incoming visitors from the other country may visit as it may be only on the left side with no U-turns for nonvisitors to reach… Indoor and outdoor designs, both German and Danish so they may be more satisfied whether the designs resemble their home country, or the country they’re visiting, well designed landscaping, this may help justify the costs in less than 39 years.