Vejdirektoratet, the Danish Roads Directorate has awarded a contract to a European joint venture for the billion-dollar task of building a 1.4 kilometer long tunnel under Svanemøllehavnen and Kalkbrænderiløbet, connecting the two districts of Østerbro and Nordhavn in Copenhagen.

Yesterday, the contract for the future Nordhavnstunnel was awarded. An award which is the culmination of several years of work planning the future tunnel and the beginning of a new and exciting stage of the project.

It will be the joint venture company consisting of Besix (Belgium) and MT Højgaard A/S (Denmark) with support from NIRAS A/S, Jacobs Sverige AB and Bravida Danmark A/S, which will build the Nordhavnstunnel. These are all large and highly competent companies with broad international experience. A total of four joint venture companies bid for the task.

Project manager and responsible for the tunnel construction Silas Nørager, Road Directorate, says: "With the award of the contract for the turnkey project, the new tunnel is well on its way. It is to the great joy of the Municipality of Copenhagen, City & Port and the many current and future stakeholders and users of the tunnel that we have now reached another major milestone on the project. The winning joint venture company delivered the best offer in terms of both quality and price, and as the client I look forward to the daily cooperation in building the tunnel.”

The upcoming Nordhavnstunnel is a prerequisite for the further urban development of inner and outer Nordhavn, and the tunnel ensures direct access to the urban development areas, which in the future will house a lot of Copenhageners and many companies.

At the same time, the tunnel will improve access to the many port activities in the area and ensure that part of the heavy traffic on Østerbro moves away from the rest of the road network and improves the urban environment.

The price from the winning bid is DKK 2.585 billion and thus stays within the project's overall construction budget.

The operating system supplier is also in place

The Road Directorate has also chosen a supplier for the task of control system for the tunnel – a so-called SCADA system, and here the Road Directorate has chosen to award the contract to ÅF-Industry AB (Sweden) with support from AFRY Denmark A/S (Denmark), which delivered the best technical offers and at the lowest price. The company for delivery of the control system has a value of around DKK 70 million.

The task of the control system for the tunnel was separated from the tunnel construction itself, because the Roads Directorate was looking for a supplier who is an expert in advanced control systems. The SCADA system, which stands for Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition, is a control system that provides an overall overview of events, notifications of technical errors that need to be corrected, and allows the tunnel's safety system to be activated as needed.

Nordhavnstunnelen will be an extension of the existing Nordhavnsvejtunnel, which already has a well-functioning SCADA system. That system was put into use in 2017 and has since been continuously optimized by Copenhagen Municipality's operation and maintenance organisation.

Project manager Silas Nørager, Road Directorate, says: "It is important that we learn from the experience that Copenhagen Municipality has gained with the Nordhavnsvej tunnel, so that we get an integrated system between the two tunnel sections that works optimally from the beginning. The task is technically challenging, and that only gives the project an extra dimension, that there must also be an interconnection with the existing system in the Nordhavnsvejtunnel. That is why we are extra happy to be able to award the contract to AFRY, which has submitted the offer with the best quality."

Both suppliers are planning a quick start-up after the conclusion of the contract, which is expected to be on September 12 after the standstill period.

Facts about the project

The Roads Directorate is the developer of the project, and after construction the tunnel will be handed over to the Municipality of Copenhagen. The tunnel thus becomes part of the municipal road network.

The project is financed by By & Havn I/S, which is also responsible for general urban development in Nordhavn, Copenhagen Municipality and the future company for Lynetteholmen.

The Nordhavn tunnel is budgeted to cost DKK 3.4 billion and, according to the main timetable, can be expected to be put into use in the middle of 2027. The tunnel is a prerequisite for the further urban development of Nordhavn.

The Nordhavn tunnel will be 1.4 kilometers long and will go under the Svanemølle Bay near Copenhagen. The tunnel will connect the Nordhavnsvej tunnel at Østerbro with Kattegatvej in Nordhavn.

The tunnel will be a so-called in situ cast tunnel. That is, a tunnel that is cast on site. The Nordhavn tunnel will have two lanes in each direction, and the lanes will be separated by a tunnel wall in the middle.

The tunnel and access and exit ramps will be adapted to modular trains and buses up to 15 metres.

https://www.vejdirektoratet.dk/pressemeddelelse/2022/de-skal-bygge-den-kommende-nordhavnstunnel-i-koebenhavn

map is from Vejdirektoratet.