Second Contract announced on world’s longest subsea tunnel
8 March 2022The second of three major contracts for the world’s deepest and longest subsea tunnels has been announced by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
The E04 contract for Norway’s Rogfast tunnel includes construction of the main 9.2km, 10.5m diameter, two-lane Boknafjord Tunnel north, which will have concrete elements in the walls and ceiling; 12 technical buildings; six pumping stations and some smaller structures in the tunnel; portals; and five sea embankments, where most of the stone from the tunnel will be placed.
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration estimates the E04 contract is worth NOK3.5bn (US$388.6m/€357.2m). Completion is scheduled for 2029.
The E04 contract is a similar length and size to E03, which was announced last year.
The two contracts are part of the E39 Rogfast project to replace ferry routes and link the cities of Kristiansand, Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen on Norway’s south-west coast.
The project’s main feature is the 27km, 10.5m diameter Boknafjord subsea twin tunnel between Harestad in Randaberg Municipality to the south of Boknafjorden and Laupland in Bokn Municipality to the north of Boknafjorden. It also includes a 2.3km motorway and a 3.5km, 10m diameter tunnel connecting the island community of Kvitsøy and the main tunnel. In August last year Norway-based contracting joint venture Hæhre and Risa was awarded the 3.5km E15 Kvitsøy spur tunnel contract.
Rogfast is due to be completed in 2033. Construction began in 2018 but the project was halted in 2019 because of predicted cost overruns.
