Main construction work on the Rogfast undersea road project in Norway suffers a major delay as the National Roads Authority (NPRA) cancels the contract for the first lot following bid problems in mid-year.

Kvitsøy E02 cancellation holds up Rogfast procurement

The only qualified bid for the Kvitsøy Contract E02 lot came in too high, leaving NPRA to spend two months trying to resolve the best way forward for this first major drill+blast package, located in the middle of the 26.7km long subsea crossing. The procurement surprise and setback followed extensive preparations and market discussions with contractors over the last several years.

Cancelling the Kvitsøy contract bid has effectively delayed all major procurement and tunnelling on the entire project.

NPRA spokesman Kjell Bjørn Vinje told TunnelTalk that “new calculations related to costs are ongoing as well as dialogue with the Department of Transport.”

Kvitsøy is one of three large tunnel packages on the Rogfast project, representing about one-third of total excavation, requiring about 21km of tunnelling for access and the twin main tubes.

The other two large tunnel lots are Harestad Contract E03 and Laupland Contract E04, for which the tender process was set to commence. Technically, they have not been cancelled as tenders did not get underway, but they are delayed by the Kvitsøy lot problems.

Completion of the preparatory Arsvågen contract in May 2019

NPRA project spokesman Øyvind Ellingsen told TunnelTalk that “we will look at all the contracts to review the design solutions” and added that “it is too early” to say if these outcomes would affect all lots.

Three bids were submitted for Kvitsøy earlier this year but two did not fit within the accepted construction period, leaving the one from the Implenia/Stangeland JV that has turned out to be 29% higher than the NPRA NKr3.5 billion (US$340 million) cost estimate. The other prospective bids, from Skanska and Marti, did not reach the price offer stage.

In a statement, NPRA Director Bjørn Grimsrud said “we have made an assessment that shows that there is a risk that the project as a whole cannot be implemented within the limits set. We are obliged to submit this to the Ministry of Transport and Communications.”

Rogfast procurement plans have experienced a run of delays. In 2017, when Parliamentary approval was received, the crossing was expected to open in 2024. Most progress was made this year (2019) with bids, finally, invited and received for the first time. Smaller tunnel works have been completed ready for the main works. The Kvitsøy contract cancellation leaves the latest timetable to open the project in 2026 in doubt.

Three shortlisted tenders for the first major lot of the world-beating Rogfast undersea road project in Norway have come in either too high or with too long a construction period, giving the Norwegian Roads Authority, the NPRA, a puzzle on what to do next. Resolving the issues with the E02 Kvitsøy lot looks set to delay procurement of the two large additional E03 Harestad and E04 Laupland contracts for the project.

Fig 1. Scope of the Rogfast E02 Kvitsøy Lot

Rogfast will be the longest undersea road tunnel in the world, with twin, T10.5 profile excavations running 26.7km under the Bokna Fjord, near Stavanger. It has a budget of NKr17 billion (some US$1.65 billion) and forms a strategic part of the E39 West Coast Highway for Norway. Contract E02 includes 21km of drill+blast excavation to create access to Kvitsøy Island in the middle of the long undersea highway route and ventilation shafts for the twin tubes (Fig 1).

According to NPRA, two of the shortlisted tenders, from Skanska and Marti, did not proceed to submission of financial offers for the E02 Kvitsøy lot because the offers were based on longer construction periods than allowable under the build programme for the package. The NPRA decision to exclude the two bids from the process was not contested by the contractors.

Fig 2. Route of world record Rogfast undersea road link

The third bid from the Implenia/Stangeland JV is within the allowable construction period but is higher on cost than budgeted. NPRA spokesman, Øyvind Ellingsen, told TunnelTalk that the JV offer of NKr4.5 billion (about US$438 million), is about 29% or NKr1 billion higher than the budget for the contract. The bid is therefore classed as the remaining bidder rather than as the preferred or selected bidder. Ellingsen said NPRA is now considering the bid, the contract budget and possible cost-reduction options.

NPRA has spent extensive time planning and preparing for the procurement phase of the Rogfast project and conducted market dialogue sessions for the E02 Kvitsøy lot in 2018. Given the intense effort and time spent, Ellingsen confirmed the Authority was surprised at the bidding outcomes on the first major tunnelling works package.

The Implenia/Stangeland JV has been working locally over recent years on the completed E39 Eiganes road tunnel to the north of Stavanger. Marti has also been working locally on part of the Ryfast undersea road tunnel which links to the Eiganes route and is due to open at the end of 2019.

Procurement planning

Following the market discussions, five contractors registered expressions of interest in the estimated NKr3-3.5 billion (US$290-340 million) E02 Kvitsøy lot. In February 2019, the number was shortlisted to three with the bids from PNC Norge and Salini Impregilo groups being eliminated.

Preparations to open the Ryfast/Eiganes connection

Earlier this year, NPRA planned to begin the tender process of the E03 Harestad and E04 Laupland contracts in June and September, respectively, and held a market dialogue day with contractors for the E04 Laupland in mid-June. Now “we will not know until we finish the E02 Kvitsøy contract process,” said Ellingsen. The E04 lot involves 19km of main tunnel excavations with another 16km of the main tunnel required under the E03 Harestad lot.

Excavation works on the small Arsvågen and Mekjarvik lots at either end of the subsea link and in preparation for the E03 and E04 contracts have been completed. Programming for the Rogfast mega project has been based on opening the subsea link to traffic in 2026.