Everything now points in the direction that the element factory at the tunnel construction site in Rødbyhavn can continue when the elements for the Fehmarn Tunnel have been cast. Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen has just forwarded Sund & Bælt’s consultation note for the idea and proposal phase for the environmental impact assessment of the factory’s preservation, which is being prepared, to the Norwegian Parliament’s transport committee.
Ten consultation responses
There were a total of ten suggestions and comments for the presentation. The nine of them are from local conservationists and/or house or land owners who express some kind of concern about the cash or glory values of their property if they become neighbors to a permanent precast plant.
Enthusiastic municipality
The last answer came from Lolland Municipality. The municipality is generally enthusiastic about the prospect of the element factory being able to continue. Conservation will provide jobs for the municipality, just as it will make good socio-economic sense to fully utilize the six billion kroner investment in the factory.
However, Lolland Municipality states three points that must be taken into account if the element factory is to be preserved:
Must use technical water
The groundwater reserves on Lolland are under pressure, and there will be no possibility of supplying groundwater to the factory when the Fehmarn project is completed. It is therefore a prerequisite that future production at the factory takes place with technical water, Lolland Municipality writes in its response to the presentation.
Technical water is purified waste water or purified water from drains and pumps.
The factory must be removed after use
An active factory is a great asset, but the opposite can be said of a manufacturing facility in disrepair. There must therefore continue to be a responsible owner (presumably the state) who can guarantee that the factory will be removed when at some point it is no longer needed, writes the municipality in its consultation response.
Agreed environmental conditions must be observed
It is Lolland Municipality’s expectation that all environmental conditions according to the current Construction Act are complied with by preserving the element factory. This implies, among other things, the need to find an alternative to the planned replacement nature, writes Lolland Municipality.
Political agreement on conservation
Preservation of the element factory on Lolland requires an amendment to the Construction Act for the Fehmarn connection.
However, in connection with Infrastructure Plan 2035, the conciliation circle agreed in the summer of 2021 that they would look positively on the preservation of the element factory.
It will maintain local jobs in Lolland at the same time that the tunnel element factory can contribute to making future projects cheaper, as there will be no need to establish new production facilities for the projects, the agreement text states, among other things.
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The roadmap is ready for the element factory
