Plans delayed again: Tunnel element factory to remain in operation until late 2029

There will be a longer wait before the Fehmarn factory in Rødbyhavn can be released for other uses.

In a new response to the Danish Parliament’s Transport Committee, Sund & Bælt states that production of tunnel elements is now expected to continue until the end of 2029.

When production began in 2023, the plan was for the last of the tunnel’s 89 elements to be completed in 2027. The following year, Sund & Bælt launched a market dialogue with potential operators, expecting a new agreement for running the factory to take effect from 2028.

Since then, the Fehmarn project has been hit by delays. The first tunnel element was not immersed until May this year, and shortly afterwards Sund & Bælt assessed that construction on the Danish side was around two years behind schedule.

The company’s CEO, Mikkel Hemmingsen, has since said that cars are not expected to be able to drive through the tunnel before 2032 at the earliest.

The extended production period therefore also delays the point at which the vast facilities in Rødbyhavn can fully come into play for new industrial purposes.