The Norwegian Coastal Administration (Kystverket), a transport agency under the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries, has received six requests for prequalification from contractors to construct the Stad ship tunnel in Norway.
The project is significant as it marks a major step towards the construction of the world’s first full-scale ship tunnel, said the transport agency.
The Stad ship tunnel construction project has been announced as a design-build contract with prequalification and negotiations.
Kystverket stated that the six requests have been evaluated against the qualification requirements specified in the tender documents, which include technical and professional qualifications. Following this evaluation, four contractors have been deemed qualified and invited to submit bids.
The contractors advancing to the bidding phase are:
• Joint venture: Skanska Norge and Vassbakk og Stol (Norway)
• AF Gruppen Norge (Norway)
• Eiffage Génie Civil (France)
• Joint venture: Acciona Construcción and Bertelsen og Garpestad (Spain/Norway)
Norwegian Coastal Administration director general Einar Vik Arset said: “We have completed thorough evaluations of the interested contractors and are pleased to bring four solid contractor groups forward in the competition to build the world’s first ship tunnel.
“We are ensuring healthy competition by going forward with these four contractors, and we believe this will impact both price and quality.”
In addition to technical and professional qualifications, the contractors are evaluated concerning financial and ethical requirements, ensuring that all certifications are in order.
Meetings at Stad are scheduled for 10 and 11 March 2025, where the four qualified bidders will receive more information about the project, including a site inspection of the tunnel areas. The meetings will provide an opportunity for the contractors to gain a better understanding of the project scope and requirements.
The initial bids are to be submitted by 1 June 2025. These bids will then be evaluated and negotiated, potentially in multiple rounds, before selecting the best offer based on the award criteria.
The goal is to sign the contract in the autumn of 2025 and commence construction in 2026, contingent upon receiving bids within the project’s budget framework. Kystverket estimates the construction period to be approximately five years.
The Norwegian transport agency has been tasked with building the Stad Ship Tunnel, which aims to improve the navigability and safety of maritime transport around Stad, a notoriously weather-exposed and dangerous stretch of sea along the Norwegian coast.
The ship tunnel will be constructed at the narrowest point of the Stad Peninsula, between the Moldefjord and Kjødepollen, in the Vanylvsfjord. The tunnel will be 1.7km (2.2km including entrance areas), 50m high, and 36m wide. This design will enable vessels up to the size of the Coastal Route/Hurtigruten to safely navigate past Stadlandet.
