The opening of the Fehmarn connection in 2029 is no longer certain. Sund & Bælt states in its 2024 annual report that the schedule is significantly challenged - and now needs to be reassessed. This is the first time the developer has formally cast doubt on the official opening date. The first tunnel element should have been lowered almost a year ago. But even though the delay has been known for a long time, Sund & Bælt has until now maintained that it could catch up on the lost time. That ambition now seems to have been shelved.
The company continues to point out that the lowering is delayed due to problems with the delivery of the special vessels needed for the work. This has shifted the entire installation phase. At the same time, there are only certain periods of the year when the weather allows for the lowering of elements in the open Belt Sea.
By the end of 2024, the tunnel trench was fully excavated. In Rødbyhavn, seven standard elements and two special elements have been cast, and the production apparatus is functioning stably. But without the lowering, the work underwater cannot begin, and the first element still lies on land.
However, the announcement that the schedule now needs to be reassessed means that the Fehmarn connection is for the first time facing a formally acknowledged risk of being delayed.
Problems in Germany
There are also problems on the German side of the connection. In the autumn of 2024, Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen (V) informed Ekstra Bladet that the railway section on the German stretch risks being delayed by four to five years.
This is due to the lack of environmental approvals for the work on a new tunnel under Fehmarnsund - the connection between the island of Fehmarn and the German mainland. Today, the railway runs over an older bridge, but it cannot bear the weight of freight trains. Until the new tunnel is built, only passenger trains will be able to fully use the Fehmarn Belt connection.
Thus, the overall infrastructure on both sides of the connection faces significant delays. However, it is still the Danish part - the tunnel itself - that is furthest ahead in the construction work.
The connection between Rødbyhavn and Puttgarden is the world's longest immersed tunnel for both road and rail.
