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- Pål Are Lilleheim

Stad ship tunnel project ready for quality assurance, phase 2

The Ministry of Transport and Communications has received the result of the extensive work done by the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) as commissioned by the Ministry in 2015. The delivery includes a technical pre-project, approved regulatory plans with impact assessment, and a central project management document. Thus, the project is ready for quality assurance phase 2 (KS 2)

Tunnelinngang i Moldefjorden
Moldefjorden: Above the tunnel entrance at the Moldefjorden side, it is proposed to establish a new overhead bridge. The fly bridge cross the portal will also be available to the public. From the sidewalk the public can watch the ships entering and coming out of the ship tunnel. (Illustration: Norwegian Coastal Administration/Snøhetta)

Selje municipality, where the Stad Ship Tunnel is planned to be built, has approved the regulatory plans and impact assessment. The technical pre-project provides a comprehensive picture of planning, construction, operation, aesthetics and cost estimates - prerequisites that must be in place to build and operate a safe, efficient and sustainable tunnel.

The central project management document, included in the delivery from the NCA to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, provides a complete overview of the project; What the Stad ship tunnel project includes, how the management structure is organized, who will participate in the project, what guidelines are the basis for the collaboration, and the responsibilities of each of the participants. Furthermore, it describes the objectives, strategies and key management tools of the project.

– The central project management document is thus a collective document summarizing all the work done by the NCA, as well as responding to what was stated in the first quality assurance (KS1). This document will follow the project from A to Z, and can be adjusted along the way, explains chief engineer Jarle Strand in the NCA.

– The whole report has now been sent to the ministry. For us at the NCA, we will now make ourselves available to the ministry and the future process with the quality assurance phase 2 (KS2). Our further work depends on the decisions and resolutions resulting from KS2 and the outcome of the Parliamentary process, he continues.

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Spørsmål og svar

  • Why build a ship tunnel?

    The Stad sea is the most exposed and most dangerous area along the coast of Norway. A ship tunnel will reduce the risk of incidents and accidents, making the voyage safer for both passengers and freight, as well as securing traffic regularity. It will also strengthen industrial and commercial activities in the region.

  • What will the total costs be for the project?

    Calculations done in conjunction with the technical pilot project shows that ship tunnel will have estimated costs of NOK 2.7 billion.

  • Has the project formally received funding?

    Final financing of projects of this kind come in connection with state budgets. But the Stad Ship Tunnel is part of the Norwegian National Transport Plan (NTP), with a limit equal to the costs – estimated at NOK 2.7 billion. That means that it is part of the government's priority transport projects. NOK 1.5 billion is part of the NTP that runs from 2018 to 2023.

  • When will the tunnel open?

    Optimistically, the ship tunnel could open in early 2023. However, before the ship tunnel can be built, a number of prerequisites must be met. First, the project must undergo a process of quality assurance and cost estimates, a process called KS2. This is carried out by order of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. When this process is completed, the project is presented to the Parliament, who then decides on whether the project should be funded. If the Parliament approves the project, construction could start in 2019.

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