Skanska has been awarded Norway’s first public-private road project worth US$186M, by the Norwegian National Road Administration (Statens Vegvesen).
Skanska will design, build, finance and operate a 27km long stretch of the E39 motorway, which involves the construction of more than 10km of tunnels.
“We welcome the new procurement form which gives us the possibility to deploy our expertise in the entire process from design and construction to operation and maintenance,” Petter Eiken, president of Selmer Skanska, said.
The E39 will run between Bårdshaug and Klett, about 20km south of Trondheim, and it signifies the largest ever road and civil construction contract for Skanska’s Norwegian subsidiary, Selmer Skanska.
The six tunnels are: Brekk (1.3km); Mannsfjell (1.7km); Svalnes (1km); Naust (230m); Viggja (2.8km); and Storsand (3.3km).
The expected geology, running from east to west, is greenstone, shale (clay schist) and gneiss. Site preparations begin this month, ready for tunnelling to begin this summer. Three Atlas Copco jumbos will be used on all the tunnels.
A separate company has been established between Skanska and Laing Roads Ltd, called Orkdalsvegen. Skanska and Laing have invested US$9.4M each, while debt financing is provided by Handelsbanken, Nordea, LB Kiel, and the Nordic Investment Bank.
Orkdalsvegen will be paid according to the road’s availability and quality on the 25 year contract. As safety on the accident-prone route is also of special concern to Statens Vegvesen, a bonus will be issued if the frequency of accidents is reduced.
“This also improves the possibilities for acquiring major construction contracts through our role as investor,” Gunnar Lundberg, Skanska BOT’s project head, said. “We hope to gain further future opportunities in the market for privately financed infrastructure.”
