The passage will be 1.8 km long.
The Norwegian government has decided to continue the construction of the world's first tunnel for maritime vessels, despite the cost of the investment project doubling. This decision allowed the minority government of Jonas Gahr Støre to maintain its parliamentary majority. This was reported by RMF 24.
The project is called the Stad Ship Tunnel and is set to be located beneath the Stadlandet peninsula on Norway's west coast. The 1.8 km long and 37-meter wide tunnel will allow vessels to bypass one of the most dangerous sections of the Norwegian coastline. The tunnel will accommodate ships with a gross tonnage of up to 16,000 tons and a length of up to 140 meters.
Initially, the construction cost of the tunnel was estimated at 4.1 billion Norwegian kroner. However, after the first bids were submitted by contractors, it became clear that investments could reach as high as 8.6 billion kroner, and according to some estimates, even 10 billion kroner (€916 million).
"Such a significant increase in costs prompted the Labour Party government to consider abandoning the project. Back in May, Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that with such high expenses, the state should not continue construction," the article reminded.
At the same time, the situation changed when the Centre Party clearly stated that it would not support the government during the vote on the revised budget without the continuation of the tunnel's construction. Therefore, for Støre's minority government, this meant a risk of losing power.
"Ultimately, the government decided to proceed with the project, although calculations indicate that the investment will be unprofitable from the start - costs are expected to be nearly four times higher than the anticipated benefits. Moreover, leading shipping companies servicing passenger and cargo transport along the Norwegian coast - Hurtigruten and Havila - have already stated that they do not intend to use the Stad tunnel," the publication added.
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