Client Femern has issued the commencement notice that the Femern Link Contractors JV needs to start work on its three contracts, together worth €3.4bn (£3bn), for the design and construction of the Fehmarnbelt road and rail link between Denmark and Germany.
The go-ahead follows four years of preparatory work that has been carried out since the contracts were signed in May 2016.
Two of the contracts cover construction of the immersed tunnel and the tunnel element factory that will manufacture the precast tunnel elements. The third involves building the portal structures, toll buildings, bridges and ramps.
The joint venture comprises Vinci Construction Grands Projets (lead company for the two tunnel contracts), Per Aarsleff (lead company for the portal contract), Royal BAM Group (with its three operating companies BAM Infra, BAM International and Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau), Solétanche-Bachy International, CFE, Dredging International and Max Bögl Stiftung & Co. The joint venture has appointed Cowi as consultant for all three contracts.
Since the signing of the contracts, the joint venture has been carrying out preparatory works aimed at increasing the robustness of both the design and execution methods and strengthening confidence in the ability to take on the challenges of the project.
The 18km immersed tunnel will connect Denmark’s Lolland Falster region with Germany’s Schleswig Holstein region. It will shorten the journey between the German and Danish coasts to just ten minutes by car and seven minutes by train compared to the current travel time of one hour by ferry or a 160 mile detour via the Danish region of Jutland by car.
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