The world’s first full-scale ship tunnel has taken a step closer to becoming a reality after Norway signed a construction contract for the long-awaited Stad Ship Tunnel.
The $934 million design-and-build contract was signed by the Norwegian Coastal Administration and contractor AF Gruppen.
Construction on the tunnel, which is planned to begin next year, is expected to take around five years.
Once completed the tunnel is intended to make coastal shipping safer, more efficient and more environmentally friendly.
“This is an historic day,” said Norwegian Coastal Administration director general Einar Vik Arset.
“The Stad Ship Tunnel is a project that has been planned and discussed for many decades, and we have now reached the point where we can sign the contract with the contractor that will build the tunnel.”
The 1.7-km passage will cut through the Stad Peninsula on Norway’s western coast, allowing ships to avoid the exposed waters around Stad, an area known for difficult weather and heavy seas. It will be 50m high and 36m wide.
AF Gruppen’s Ivar Galaaen described it as “a unique construction project” with unusually high local and international interest.
The project narrowly survived a political funding battle earlier this year after costs rose by around 70 per cent.
Norway’s parliament approved a new cost framework in June, allowing the project to proceed.
“We have no time to lose if we are to achieve our goal of starting construction early in 2027,” Arset said.
&uuid=(email))