A planned full-scale ship tunnel would offer a safe shortcut through Norway’s Stad Peninsula, bypassing a notoriously dangerous stretch of coast where multiple shipwrecks have occurred. The first-of-its-kind project is scheduled to begin construction next year.
Kystverket, the Norwegian Coastal Administration, selected a team of Oslo-based design-build contractor AF Gruppen along with Sanvika, Norway-based engineers Norconsult for the turnkey contract, the companies announced June 26. The estimated value is the equivalent of about $560 million, according to AF Gruppen.
“It is rare for us, as a design and build contractor, to have the opportunity to take on such a unique infrastructure project, attracting significant local, national and international interest,” Amund Toftum, CEO of AF Gruppen, said in a statement. The contractors did not immediately respond to inquiries about the project.
The tunnel is planned to stretch about 1 mile between the Moldefjord and Kjodepollen. At about 165 ft high and 120 ft wide, it would accommodate vessels up to 53 ft wide and with a draft of up to 40 ft, according to the coastal administration.
Rendering courtesy AF Gruppen
In addition to the tunnel itself, the contract covers construction of approach and guiding structures, removal of excavated rock, shipping channel dredging and development of commercial areas near the tunnel portals.
The contractors are set to begin detailed design in collaboration with the coastal administration in August. Construction will start in early 2027, Einar Vik Arset, director general of the coastal administration, said in a statement. Work is expected to take about five years.
The AF Gruppen-led team beat out two others that submitted for the job, Eiffage Génie Civil and the consortium Skanska/Vassbakk & Stol, according to the coastal administration.
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“We have been fortunate to have highly skilled and committed bidders participating in this competition,” Arset said in a statement.
The coastal administration estimates the full cost of the project at the equivalent of about $870 million. Several other contracts are still being tendered, including one covering demolition of buildings near the tunnel site and another for water pipelines to be installed on both sides of the tunnel.
Stortinget, the Norwegian parliament, recently passed a revised budget allocating the initial $15 million for the project.
In addition to improving safety for vessels passing through the area, Norwegian officials say the tunnel will provide a significantly shortened travel time, enabling express boat service between the cities of Bergen and Alesund, while also reducing fuel use and cutting carbon dioxide emissions.
