The Norwegian Government's budget in 2023 confirmed EUR 7.23 million (NOK 76 million) was set aside for the Stad ship tunnel. After the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) approved the construction and financing of the project in May 2021, the preparatory work was started including surveys, expropriations, regulatory work, plans for the handling of the spoil, etc. - The Norwegian Coastal Administration is now preparing the basis for the competition for the construction of the Stad Ship Tunnel.

The plan is to announce the work as a major fixed-price design and construct contract, which will be acquired after a competition with negotiation. Expected announcement will be after the summer of 2023. To ensure that the basis for the competition is as good as possible and to prepare the contractor market for the coming competition, the Norwegian Coastal Administration is inviting potential suppliers to a conference at the Radisson Blue Airport Hotel at Gardermoen on Tuesday 31 January.

The dialogue conference will be held in Norwegian and will require physical attendance (it will not be transmitted digitally). The purpose of the conference is to prepare the contractor market for the coming competition, while the project also aims to facilitate dialogue on contract strategy and the basis for the competition. This market dialogue is important so as to be able to present the project and the process to relevant suppliers - but also to find solutions, technology and alternatives. It is about ensuring that the basis for competition does not exclude good alternatives and solutions. The technical equipment must be able to withstand sea water, corrosion, fog - conditions that are totally different to those in a normal road tunnel.

One of the new considerations since the previous supplier conference  - held in September 2021 - is the new guideline that rock spoil from the ship tunnel is to be used to develop commercial projects in the immediate area. In the previous plan, massive quantities of rock spoil were to be dumped on the seabed in the Molde Fjord. Now, contractors are instead encouraged to find effective solutions for transporting about 5.4 million cubic metres of blasted-out rock spoil for use in piers, jetties, harbours and other commercial projects in the immediate area.

The aim is to sign a contract early in 2024, so the construction can start in the first part of 2024. Click here and no/132 for the tunnelbuilder archive and also visit https://kystverket.no/en/ . 47/22.