Construction phase initiated for Fehmarnbelt Link 30 Apr 2020

Danish state-owned planning company Femern is activating the main construction contracts with Femern Link Contractors (FLC) with effect from 1 January 2021. FLC will construct the 18km immersed Fehmarnbelt tunnel, linking Germany with Denmark across the Baltic Sea.

Plan of Rødbyhavn showing tunnel portal location

The tunnel, which is expected to be completed by 2028, will comprise a dual-track railway and a four-lane motorway. The activation of the main contracts means that construction can get started on a large scale tunnel element factory, tunnel portal and ramp facilities at Rødby harbour (Rødbyhavn) on the Danish side. The concrete casting factory will be one of the biggest factories in Denmark and the overall construction site at the harbour will reportedly be the largest of its type in Northern Europe. Dutch consortium Fehmarn Belt Contractors (FBC) started construction on the harbour in November 2019 and expects to complete it by the end of 2021.

Activation of the contracts is being carried out with due respect for the ongoing German approval process of the project. In February 2019, Femern received the signed approval from the authorities of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The German Federal Administrative Court is currently processing the complaints about the approval and the court has set dates for the final hearings in Autumn 2020. Femern is already engaged in a number of construction site preparation activities for the tunnel on the German side at Puttgarden, meaning further progress can be made as soon as the German legal proceedings allow.