Construction contractors Højgaard Denmark and BESIX will this month finalise an agreement to build the Nordhavnstunnel in the Danish capital Copenhagen. The €400 million Nordhavnstunnel contract was awarded by the Danish Road Agency/Vejdirektoratet. The Højgaard/BESIX joint venture will work closely with project management consultancy Niras, electrical contractor Bravida Danmark and engineering services firm Jacobs Sverige. The tunnel is expected to be commissioned in 2027.

The 1.4km cut-and-cover tunnel will be constructed in situ in sections, from Svanevænget through the port of Svanemøllehavn to Nordhavn. The consortium will cast the tunnel section in situ and about 700m will be underwater. It will connect Østerbro with the outside Nordhavn and provide easier access to the port area. Other work includes local road upgrades and intersection improvements, mechanical and electrical engineering and traffic control systems.

When the tunnel opens, it will handle around 8,200 vehicles a day and prepare for the capital's future Eastern Ring Road, according to the Danish Roads Agency. As part of the project, the Highways Agency is also building a temporary replacement port at Færgehavn Nord to which about half of Svanemølle's approximately 1,500 vessels will be moved. Tunnels under Svanemølle Bay will also improve accessibility to heavy traffic to the container terminal and cruise terminal.

Nordhavn will be directly connected to the entire national road network via Nordhavnstunnellen and Nordhavnsvej. Nordhavnstunnellen will serve as a continuation of Nordhavnsvejen as a municipal road. Denmark's BESIX win follows the successful completion of the Princess Mary Bridge in 2019, the construction of which was covered in the World Roads Report.

It was announced in September 2016 that a joint venture between BESIX and Italian company Rizzani de Eccher and Spanish company Acciona Infraestructuras has been selected for this €133 million project. Officially known as the Fjord Link Frederikssund design and build contract, it includes an 8.2km four-lane two-lane, part of Denmark's main Route 53 with a high bridge over the Roskilde Fjord. Keywords: engineering news, overseas news

In September 2020, BESIX became part of BERINOR, a joint venture including Rizzani de Eccher, to design the E6 Moelv-Roterud infrastructure project in Norway.Editor/XingWentao