The Sotra Connection project includes a suspension bridge that will be 900m long with towers 114m high. There will also be a total of 12.5km of tunnels, 19 road and pedestrian underpasses, 23 tunnel portals, 22 other bridges and viaducts and 14km of pedestrian and bicycle paths.
The winning team is Sotra Link, which is owned by Australian investment bank Macquarie Group (70%), South Korean civil engineering company SK Ecoplant (20%) and Italian group Webuild (10%). Webuild will also be involved on the construction side as it has a 35% stake in the consortium that will be responsible for the design and construction of the project. Pini from Switzerland, FCC from Spain and Intertoll from Hungary are also involved as well as Norconsult and Multiconsult.
The public-private partnership (PPP) project being awarded to Sotra Link has a value of NOK19.8bn (£1.65bn). Sotra Link will finance, build, operate and maintain the road system for 25 years after the opening to traffic in 2027.
Kjell Inge Davik, director of development at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, said that the companies behind Sotra Link have extensive experience with the implementation of PPP contracts and extensive experience with the construction of suspension bridges and tunnels.
In addition, Norwegian contractors, material suppliers and subcontractors are being brought into the project. “Such a large project has an enormous need for local and national contributors in project implementation,” said the client’s project manager, Arve Tjønn Rinde Rinde. “As we see it, Sotra Link has done a very good job and established a close collaboration with several local contributors.”
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