This article was written in collaboration with David Arnholm from Lolland Falster’s Folketidende.
On Monday afternoon, the consortium behind the construction of the new Storstrømsbro, Storstroemsbro Joint Venture I/S – or simply SBJV, published its annual accounts for 2022, and it was more than ordinary depressing reading. The consortium, which consists of the two Italian construction companies Fincosit and Itinera, has not made a profit since 2018, and the result for 2022 ended with a thunderous deficit.
Loss of DKK 1.4 billion and zero equity
Now the company’s equity is down to around zero, and the Italian parent company Itinera has had to transfer over 1.4 billion to the Danish consortium to cover the 2022 deficit. Itinera has also guaranteed to hold the hand during SBJV, who can thus continue the activities despite the serious pocket pain.
Corona and Ukraine war to blame for problems
According to the management report in the annual report, it is the after-effects of Corona, price increases for building materials as a result of the war in Ukraine and problems in procuring labor that have forced the Italian consortium to its knees.
Handover postponed for a year and a half
However, it is not just the financial bottom line that is suffering under the unusual circumstances. The handover of the bridge project to the client, the Swedish Road Administration, has now been postponed until September 2024 – a year and a half later than originally planned.
According to the plan, the new Storstrømsbro is to open for car traffic in 2025 and train traffic in 2027. It is not yet known whether that schedule will now also have to be revised.
Expected balance in 2022
In the annual report from 2021, it was the management’s expectation that SBJV would break even in 2022. But it turned out differently.
But management also expected the outlook to be negatively impacted by Covid-19 and by the outbreak of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Despite the fact that the result is not as expected, the management considers the result to be satisfactory, taking the overall situation into account, and all actions to minimize the loss have been initiated, the management report states.
Demands 2.8 billion from the Road Directorate
One of these actions is obviously asking the developer for more money. Earlier on Monday, Licitationen and Femernnews were able to reveal that SBJV is demanding DKK 2.8 billion in extra payment from the Road Directorate. This will more than double the price of the new Storstrømsbro, which was originally agreed at DKK 2.1 billion.
