Besix-led JV to tackle Copenhagen tunnel

A joint venture partnership of Belgium’s Besix and Denmark’s MT Højgaard has won the contract to design and build the Nordhavn Tunnel in the Danish capital, Copenhagen.

The proposed route of the Nordhavn Tunnel in Copenhagen. Image: Vejdirektoratet

The €346 million contract, awarded by the Danish Road Directorate, vejdirektoratet, calls for the construction of a 1.4km-long road tunnel, running beneath Svanemølle Bay for approximately 700m.

The scope of work is also understood to include the building of connecting roads and junctions, plus the installation of mechanical, electrical and traffic control systems.

At Svanemøllebugten, the tunnel will be constructed using the cut-and-cover method. Due to the upheaval caused by the tunnelling work, some 1500 boats have had to be moved to a temporary harbour at Færgehavn Nord.

Vejdirektoratet said the tunnel is an important development, intended to ease congestion as traffic increases, due to the rapid development of the Nordhaven area. This expansion is expected to generate some 40,000 new jobs in the area.

With construction work expected to start before the end of the year, the tunnel should be ready for traffic by the middle of 2027, at which point more than 8,000 vehicles are expected to use it every day.