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High demand for stone from Stad ship tunnel

Buildings by the sea
The Norwegian Coastal Administration and the municipalities close to the ship tunnel wants to use the stone to establish new commercial areas in the region. In the center of Måløy they are planning a whole new area with hotel and water park. They need 326 000 cubic meters of stone from the ship tunnel for his project.

Stone from the ship tunnel can create new piers and commercial areas and create many new workplaces in the region.

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The Norwegian Coastal Administration is going to build the world first ship tunnel. The dimensions are massive, and a total of 3 million cubic meters of solid mountain will be removed, which is equivalent to 5.4 million cubic meters of blasted masses of stone.

- Stad ship tunnel is primarily a project where the focus is safety at sea, but there are also many synergies. The stone from the ship tunnel can lead to several new commercial areas in the region and can create many new workplaces, says project manager for Stad ship tunnel Terje Skjeppestad.

The municipalities around the ship tunnel need the stone for many planned projects in the region - so there is a great interest among potential receivers. The municipality of Vanylven has five projects, Stad has six and Kinn has seven. In addition to this, there is also a list of backup projects in the municipality of Sande.

Many useful projects

The Norwegian Coastal Administration recently had a tour in the region, visiting the receivers of the stone and learning more about their projects.

- We have been presented with a lot of good and useful projects that will create many new business areas and workplaces in the region. We see that stone from the ship tunnel can create new commercial areas like piers, breakwaters, expansion of existing factories, hotels, water parks as so on. This aligns with our mission which is to optimize the project, so that is why we want to facilitate good reuse of the stone masses, says Skjeppestad.

There is a total of 5.4 million cubic meters of blasted stone to be extracted from the ship tunnel. The plan is that half of this is going to be used close to the tunnel, the entry areas and for new municipal business areas in Kjøde and Lesto. The other half will be distributed around the region to develop new or existing piers and business areas. Overall, we have received requests for more stone than we will be able to give.

map
The illustration shows the different projects around the region.
The municipality of Stad wants to build a new business area at Lesto and Kjøde, which is close to the ship tunnel.
Photo:Kystverket/Multiconsult/Stad kommune

There is not enough stone.

- Unfortunately, we do not have enough stone for all the projects, so we have to prioritize, says Skjeppestad.

What is the Norwegian Coastal Administration looking for while prioritizing these projects?

- There are several requirements. We must get access to the area by barge and/or boat, and there must be a mooring and anchoring point so that we can deliver the stone on land. All regulatory plans and public applications must be on track. Finally, we look at the time perspective for the realization and the usefulness of the project – what will the project create in terms of development. We also have to think about costs, says Skjeppestad.

The Norwegian Coastal Administration is now working on the priority list and aim to present this early in 2024.

Will not deposit masses on the seabed.

In the original project description to the Norwegian Coastal Administration, is says that parts of the stone masses should be used to the entry areas for the tunnel, and that the rest should be deposited at the seabed in Moldefjorden.

- The state administrator has given a green light for us to deposit the stone in Moldefjorden, but we do not think this is a good solution. We would rather use the stone to build new business areas in the region – and create synergies from the tunnel project, says project manager Skjeppestad.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries has accepted this idea. There is a lack of masses and business areas in the region, so the best idea is to reuse the stone masses from Stad ship tunnel.

Challenges ahead

Loading stone to barges and transporting it by sea is expensive. This is why the Norwegian Coastal Administration is depending on transportation by dump truck from the opening of the tunnel to the business areas at Lesto and Kjøde. This is much cheaper than transhipment to smaller trucks or to barge transport.

- Good transport solutions without transhipment to Kjøde and Lesto will help us save a lot of money and make is easier to deliver the rest of the masses on barges, says Skjeppestad.

But getting approval to transport the masses on the public roads in the area in challenging. In fact, it is not allowed to drive dump trucks on Norwegian roads.

- We have a dialogue with Statens vegvesen (State Highway Authority) regarding the possibility of getting a dispensation from the regulations. We depend on transporting the masses by road to Kjøde and Lesto to save money. This is the only way we can make sure that the other projects can receive the stone masses. We do have the approved deposit area at the bottom of Moldefjorden to fall back on, but this is a bad solution for everyone, and it certainly does not create new business areas and workplaces, says Skjeppestad.

General updates about the project

The government has given a green light for the tender process for the Stad ship tunnel project. The Norwegian Coastal Administration will be ready to put the tunnel out to tender in 2024. Then there will be an extensive competition before the contract will be signed. The construction will then start by the end of 2025/beginning of 2026.

This is how the business area at Kjøde could be, with a pier and facilities on land.
Photo:Kystverket/Multiconsult/Stad kommune

About the Stad ship tunnel

The Norwegian Coastal Administration (Kystverket) has been tasked with building the Stad Ship Tunnel, the world's first full-scale ship tunnel. The construction project will be carried out by a main contractor through a turnkey contract. It is scheduled to be announced in 2024, with construction potentially commencing in 2025.

The objective of the Stad Ship Tunnel project is to improve the navigability and safety of maritime transport around Stad, likely the most weather-exposed and dangerous stretch of sea along the Norwegian coast. Additionally, the project is to be optimized to extract other benefits.

The ship tunnel will be constructed at the narrowest point of the Stad Peninsula, between the Moldefjord and Kjødepollen, in the Vanylvsfjord. The tunnel will be 1.7 kilometers long (2.2 km including entrance areas), 50 meters high, and with a width of 36 meters. This means that vessels up to the size of the Coastal Route/Hurtigruten will be able to safely navigate past Stadlandet.

The Norwegian Coastal Administration is a transport agency under the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries. Our vision is to develop the coast and ocean areas into the world's safest and cleanest. The Stad Ship Tunnel is a part of this effort.

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