The Norwegian Coastal Administration (Kystverket) has picked Danish consulting engineer Cowi as technical adviser for the world’s first ship tunnel.
The 1.7km-long Stad Ship Tunnel will cut through the mountainous, inland end of the long Stad Peninsula on Norway’s west coast, so ships can avoid having to go around it through the rough Stadhavet Sea.
Proposed first in the 19th Century, the ambitious scheme is now underway.
It will be tendered as a turnkey project this year with a view to breaking ground in 2025.
It is designed to be 26.5m wide, with 33m headroom, and will be able to accommodate 70 to 120 ships a day.
Kystverket project manager Terje Skjeppestad said Cowi would be the technical partner during the procurement and construction phases.
“Our new technical adviser will be with us until the tunnel is fully constructed, meaning through both preparatory work and in the tendering, design, construction, and completion phases,” he said.
Cowi will complement Kystverket’s own project team, which consists of 10 employees.
Skjeppestad said: “We aim to maintain a lean project organisation and cannot have all expertise in-house. Through Cowi, we will gain specialised expertise in technical fields, which will complement our own professionals.
“Nevertheless, we anticipate that the project organisation will expand significantly when we commence the actual construction.”
Cowi’s project lead Espen Viddal added: “Projects that are the largest, longest, and first of their kind are something that excites us and that we want to be a part of.”
The value of the agreement to Cowi is expected to be up to $8.2m, rising to $13.5m if it provides temporary staff to Kystverket.
The Cowi team includes Norwegian research organisation Sintef and surveyor Longvas Oppmåling.
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