After securing a DKK128 million contract in September 2005 from Landsverk, the road administration, Istak is building the Hov tunnel on Sudurö that will connect the towns of Oravik and Hov. The 2,450 m-long tunnel has an excavated width x height of 10 m x 7.5 m and a cross section of approx. 70 sq m according to Norwegian standard section T9.5. It is a single tube with two lanes of a total width of seven metres and a 1.5 m shoulder at each side. The project also includes new roads outside the tunnel of approx. 2.2 km.The method of excavation is drill and blast using an Atlas Copco Rocket Boomer L3C with three booms (year 2003). The supplier of explosives is Kemis of Iceland. The detonators are from Austin Detonator's facility in the Czech Republic. The explosives have been made by Minex of Poland. Support techniques are traditional fibre-reinforced shotcrete and rock bolts. Rock bolts are from Orsta in Norway. Istak is operating its own concrete batching plant. Danish Aalborg Portland rapid cement is used and sand from NorStone in Norway. Mucking and hauling is with a Volvo L180 payloader and 4 axled dump trucks. The tunnel will be excavated mostly from the Oravik site but approx. 400 m will be excavated from the Hov site. At the moment, about 450 m of tunnel has been excavated.The contract includes the roadway through the tunnel, drainage system, cables, water and frost protection, electrical system, ventilation and safety system. The project will be delivered in December 2007. The tunnel excavation started in end January 2006 and is planned to finish on 1st March, 2007. Visit www.atlascopco.com, www.istak.is, http://landsverk.fo, www.orsta.com, www.kemis.is, www.austin.cz, www.nitron.com.pl, www.aalborg-portland.dk and www.norstone.no 18/06.