The first concrete element could be lowered within days, marking a key step for the Denmark-Germany link after setbacks involving the IVY immersion vessel, trench disputes and wider conflict between contractor and client.
Preparation of the first tunnel element is in full swing. Photo: Sund & Bælt
After a prolonged period of problems surrounding the immersion vessel IVY, disputes over the tunnel trench and severe tensions on the Fehmarnbelt construction site, the sequence for the first tunnel elements has now been settled. The first element could be immersed within days.
The first elements are due to be immersed in the following order: 77, 78, 79, 76, 75, one special element and then 74. That means element 77 will be the first tunnel element to be connected to the tunnel portal on Lolland, Sund & Bælt told FemernBusiness.
A tunnel element is one of the large concrete units, each weighing 73,500 tonnes, from which the tunnel is being built. The elements are cast in Rødbyhavn, towed into the Fehmarn Belt and then lowered into the tunnel trench on the seabed, where they are joined one by one. This is how the 18km immersed tunnel between Denmark and Germany will be assembled. The tunnel consists of 79 standard elements and 10 special elements.
The special elements differ in that they contain a basement level beneath the road and rail tubes. This is where the tunnel’s technical equipment and installations for operations and monitoring will be housed. The 10 special elements are to be positioned at intervals of roughly 2km along the link.
Conflicts on several fronts
Here is the tunnel element from the inside. Photo: Sund & Bælt
Immersion will begin in the first 650 metres of the tunnel trench, which over the past year has been one of the project’s main points of contention. The main contractor, Femern Link Contractors, or FLC, argued that the trench could not be approved in its then condition and pointed to deficiencies so serious that work could not proceed until there was agreement on the state of the seabed. Sund & Bælt and Femern A/S, by contrast, maintained that the deviations could be handled through minor adjustments.
The dispute over the tunnel trench has thus become a central part of a broader conflict over responsibility, timetable and cost. FLC has lodged claims against Femern A/S worth DKK 14.5bn, citing changed conditions and delays. At the same time, an international arbitration case is under way over Covid-related delays. The dispute has become so sharp that the permanent secretary at Denmark’s transport ministry has intervened directly in the question of whether the contractor is capable of completing the project. The parties still disagree over the quality of the remainder of the 18km tunnel trench, meaning that for now only the first 650 metres form the basis for the immersion phase.
Meanwhile, production continues in Rødbyhavn. So far, 14 standard elements have been produced, in addition to three cast special elements.
Under the original timetable, the immersion phase was expected to take 36 months. But German environmental requirements, together with the delays that have already hit the project, suggest that this stage could take longer. That would be followed by up to two years of testing and technical installations before the link can open.
After a prolonged period of problems surrounding the immersion vessel IVY, disputes over the tunnel trench and severe tensions on the Fehmarnbelt construction site, the sequence for the first tunnel elements has now been settled. The first element could be immersed within days.
The first elements are due to be immersed in the following order: 77, 78, 79, 76, 75, one special element and then 74. That means element 77 will be the first tunnel element to be connected to the tunnel portal on Lolland, Sund & Bælt told FemernBusiness.
A tunnel element is one of the large concrete units, each weighing 73,500 tonnes, from which the tunnel is being built. The elements are cast in Rødbyhavn, towed into the Fehmarn Belt and then lowered into the tunnel trench on the seabed, where they are joined one by one. This is how the 18km immersed tunnel between Denmark and Germany will be assembled. The tunnel consists of 79 standard elements and 10 special elements.
The special elements differ in that they contain a basement level beneath the road and rail tubes. This is where the tunnel’s technical equipment and installations for operations and monitoring will be housed. The 10 special elements are to be positioned at intervals of roughly 2km along the link.
Conflicts on several fronts
Here is the tunnel element from the inside. Photo: Sund & Bælt
Immersion will begin in the first 650 metres of the tunnel trench, which over the past year has been one of the project’s main points of contention. The main contractor, Femern Link Contractors, or FLC, argued that the trench could not be approved in its then condition and pointed to deficiencies so serious that work could not proceed until there was agreement on the state of the seabed. Sund & Bælt and Femern A/S, by contrast, maintained that the deviations could be handled through minor adjustments.
The dispute over the tunnel trench has thus become a central part of a broader conflict over responsibility, timetable and cost. FLC has lodged claims against Femern A/S worth DKK 14.5bn, citing changed conditions and delays. At the same time, an international arbitration case is under way over Covid-related delays. The dispute has become so sharp that the permanent secretary at Denmark’s transport ministry has intervened directly in the question of whether the contractor is capable of completing the project. The parties still disagree over the quality of the remainder of the 18km tunnel trench, meaning that for now only the first 650 metres form the basis for the immersion phase.
Meanwhile, production continues in Rødbyhavn. So far, 14 standard elements have been produced, in addition to three cast special elements.
Under the original timetable, the immersion phase was expected to take 36 months. But German environmental requirements, together with the delays that have already hit the project, suggest that this stage could take longer. That would be followed by up to two years of testing and technical installations before the link can open.
