Fehmarn Belt project running into further delays

The necessary permission from the German authorities to start the project won’t be available by the summer

Stephen Gadd

Denmark’s biggest infrastructure project to date, the projected Fehmarn Belt tunnel, has again run into trouble.

Ever since Danish approval for the project which would connect up Denmark and Germany came in the spring of 2015, it has been plagued by delays and budgetary problems.

READ ALSO: Troubled Fehmarn Belt project to continue following cross-party agreement

The tunnel has been budgeted to cost 52.6 billion kroner and staying on schedule is crucial to keeping costs at this level.

Three weeks ago, transport minister Ole Birk Olesen decided to allow the building consortium to bring forward the preliminary activities to prepare for construction on the understanding that the German authorities would green-light the project by the summer, reports Jyllands-Posten Finans.

It now appears that the required approvals will not be available before the end of the year.

Tunnel vision
German local politician Sandra Redman told Finans that according to her sources, the problem lay with the fact that the company behind the project, Femern A/S, had not sent their paperwork in on time for approval.

“As far as we’ve been informed, they ought to have submitted their documentation in the autumn in order to have it approved by the summer, but the paperwork was actually only submitted in March,” said Redman.

Even after the German authorities approve the project it is expected that another two years could go by on court cases. It now seems that the earliest tunneling can start would be the end of 2020. This means that Femern A/S will also have to renegotiate the main building contracts and that could end up being a costly business.

TOP STORIES

  • Danish Intelligence Service: Threat from Russia has intensified

    Danish Intelligence Service: Threat from Russia has intensified

    In the internal Danish waters, Russia will be able to attack underwater infrastructure from all types of vessels. The target could be cables with data, electricity and gas, assesses the Danish Defense Intelligence Service

  • Denmark to explore screening citizenship applicants for anti-democratic sentiments

    Denmark to explore screening citizenship applicants for anti-democratic sentiments

    A few weeks after Alex Vanopslagh’s comments about “right values,” the government announced that an expert committee would be established to examine the feasibility of screening citizenship applicants for anti-democratic attitudes.

  • The Future Copenhagen

    The Future Copenhagen

    The municipality plan encompasses building 40,000 houses by 2036 in order to help drive real estate prices down. But this is not the only huge project that will change the shape of the city: Lynetteholmen, M5 metro line, the Eastern Ring Road, and Jernbanebyen will transform Copenhagen into something different from what we know today

  • It’s not you: winter depression is affecting many people

    It’s not you: winter depression is affecting many people

    Many people in Denmark are facing hard times marked by sadness, anxiety, and apathy. It’s called winter depression, and it’s a widespread phenomenon during the cold months in Nordic countries.

  • Crime rates are rising, but people are safer

    Crime rates are rising, but people are safer

    Crime in Denmark is increasing for the second consecutive year, but it is more focused on property, while people appear to be safer than before. Over the past year, there were fewer incidents of violence

  • Novo Nordisk invests 8.5 billion DKK in new Odense facility

    Novo Nordisk invests 8.5 billion DKK in new Odense facility

    Despite Novo’s announcement that its growth abroad will be larger than in Denmark, the company announced this morning an 8.5 billion DKK investment for a new facility in Odense. This is the first time the company has established a new production site in Denmark this century.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs