A status report sent to the client Femern A/S from the contractor Femern Link Contractors sheds a sharp light on the problems affecting the work on the Fehmarn connection. While the official statements from Femern A/S maintain that the opening will occur in 2029, the report shows a much more cautious scenario: the first immersion of tunnel elements can take place no earlier than 9 May 2026. In the official schedules, three years have been allocated to lower the tunnel elements - followed by two years of work and testing before it can open.
The report describes how the tunnel trench is not approved, and how the contractor Femern Link Contractors therefore cannot take over responsibility and continue the work. This means that the huge tunnel elements being cast in Rødbyhavn currently have no place to be positioned.
Thus, the report raises the question of whether the schedule can hold - and how much of a delay the project is really facing.
- It is concerning, if the date is to be believed, then it is a massive delay they are looking at, says a senior researcher at the Department of the Built Environment at Aalborg University.
The tunnel trench as a bottleneck
The 18-kilometre-long tunnel trench is the very foundation of the connection. Before each of the 89 elements can be lowered, the trench must be excavated, checked, and approved. Only then can the responsibility formally pass from the client Femern A/S to the contractor Femern Link Contractors.
The status report shows that this transfer is on hold because the contractor has rejected the data provided by the client. As a result, the construction is currently at a standstill.
- It appears that a tunnel trench was delivered in good order, otherwise the client Femern A/S would not have approved it and taken responsibility for it. And now FLC, who is to build the tunnel, is raising objections. This is currently the client's problem. The contractor cannot place elements in a tunnel trench that does not meet the requirements, says Kim Haugbølle.
The disagreement is not only about technology. It is also about who bears the risk if problems arise later. An approved trench means that the contractor bears the responsibility. A rejected trench sends the responsibility back to the client.
According to Haugbølle, it is precisely in this intersection that the status report should be read. It points to both a real technical problem and a tactical game between the parties.
The date as a pressure tool
Amidst the report's descriptions, the date 9 May 2026 stands as the first possible submersion. This is more than two years later than planned, and according to Haugbølle, it gives the contractor a strong card in negotiations with the client.
- This probably reflects a negotiation where, as a contractor, you want to be in the best possible position and put maximum pressure on the client, says Kim Haugbølle.
A reflection of the project's uncertainty
For Kim Haugbølle, the status report is not just a technical account. It also shows how large construction projects often live with a gap between what is communicated to the public and what is happening between the client and the contractors.
- It is not uncommon to have two narratives running simultaneously. The internal and the external. Outwardly, you maintain that you will open in 2029. Internally, we have some documents from deep within the engine room that show a different reality than what is being told to the public.
How much difference can there be in the two narratives?
'This is quite a significant deviation, says Kim Haugbølle.
