The NPRA has entered into the PPP contract for The Sotra Connection with Sotra Link AS in Norway. The contract is worth EUR1.96 bn (NOK 19.8 bn). The contract was awarded in September last year to PPP company Sotra Link AS, owned by three international companies: The Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd, headquartered in Sydney (70%), the South Korean construction engineering firm SK Ecoplant Co. Ltd (20%) and the Italian industrial group Webuild S.p.A (10%). Sotra Link AS will be financing, designing, and engineering, building, operating and maintaining the road facility for 25 years after it is opened to traffic in 2027.
The contract is the largest single contract entered into by the NPRA ever, and the largest infrastructure contract awarded in EU in 2021. The total cost limit for the project is NOK 23.1 billion (2022 value), including preparatory work that has been ongoing since 2018, construction time will be five years.
The new Sotra Connection involves the construction of a 9.4 km four-lane road from the intersection with the Fv 562 at Storavatnet in Bergen to the intersection with the Fv 561 at Kolltveit in Oygarden Municipality, of which 4.6 km of the road runs in twin tube tunnels. The project also includes a new four-lane bridge of about 900 m, with a separate pedestrian and cycle path. The new road system will have separate lanes and ramps for public transport, and pedestrian and cycle facilities. New park-and-ride facilities and public transport terminals will be built at Straume and Storavatnet. Three smaller bridges are also included in the project.
The working partnership that will be building the Sotra Connection consists of Spanish FCC (35%), Italian Webuild (35%) and South Korean SK Ecoplant (30%), with assistance from the Norwegian consultancies of Multiconsult and Norconsult as well as Swiss PINI. Operation and maintenance will be carried out by the Hungarian company Intertoll. Click no/250 for further information in the tunnelbuilder archive. Visit https://www.vegvesen.no/ and https://www.webuildgroup.com/en/.11/22.
