By Steffen Trumpf, dpa
Copenhagen (dpa) – Work was set to start on Friday on a controversial tunnel that, as planned, will link the German island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland beneath the Baltic Sea.
The project has been tied up in legal proceedings for years, with cases brought by environmentalists who fear the project will disrupt marine life and others bought by ferry companies concerned about the loss of routes and jobs.
Friday’s plans would see work begin on the tunnel’s mouth in Lolland as well as on a factory in the Danish city of Rodby, where infrastructure for the tunnel will be fabricated.
The start of work has been in planning for a quarter of a century. But even this start had to abbreviated, due to the coronavirus crisis. A planned groundbreaking ceremony set for this Monday had to be cancelled for health reasons.
Instead, there was an online ceremony with a virtual groundbreaking. German officials present called it a great chance for Europe and said German work on the project would begin soon.
“One of the biggest construction projects in Danish history can now start,” said Danish Transportation Minister Benny Engelbrecht. Plans call for the tunnel to be open to traffic by 2029.
The Fehmarn Belt tunnel, stretching 18 kilometres, is to link Puttgarden on Fehmarn on the German side to Rodby on Lolland on the Danish side.
The Danish company working on the project has estimated the costs at 7.1 billion euros (8.3 billion dollars) on the basis of 2016 prices. Permission was granted on the Danish side in 2015.
Germany will bear the costs for the connections to the hinterland and replacing the bridge that links the mainland to Fehmarn. These are estimated at 3.5 billion euros, including a buffer of 1.1 million euros to cater for unexpected eventualities.
Once finished, the tunnel should cut the driving time from Hamburg to Copenhagen by an hour by car and by two hours by train. The current trip with either mode of transport takes four to five hours.
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