The process to find a turnkey contractor for the world’s first ship tunnel has officially begun, and the Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) is anticipating considerable interest from the contractor market.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration plans to announce the tender for the Stad ship tunnel construction on December 1.
The tunnel will provide a safe passage through the Stadhavet Sea in Norway and will be the world’s first full-scale tunnel for ships. It will be 1.7km long, 50m high and 36m wide.
Interested turnkey contractors will be invited to a dedicated tender conference at Gardermoen on December 17.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) expects considerable interest in building the tunnel. Previous engagement with the contractor market, including two supplier conferences, revealed enthusiasm for the project.
NCA project manager Harald Inge Johnsen said the tender announcement was a significant milestone for the project.
“The Stad ship tunnel is a spectacular and somewhat challenging project, unique in the world today. We believe this will attract many contractors, which may lead to strong competition that can positively impact quality and price,” he said.
“The regulatory plans were completed at the end of October. We have also finalised land acquisition and other preparatory work. We are now working intensively on the final adjustments and quality assurance of the competition framework before we publish it on Doffin in the last weekend of November.”
Johnsen said the NCA had made several changes to the competition framework since the previous market conference in 2023, including adjustments based on contractor feedback.
“Adjustments have been made to the risk profile, including the allocation of risk. The project owner now primarily follows the standardised responsibilities in accordance with NS-8407, and the project owner will conduct additional ground surveys and take on the quantity risk associated with some processes. This includes, for instance, that all rock support work in tunnel and surface areas will be settled based on adjustable unit prices. The same applies to injection work and water and frost protection work,” said Johnsen.
He added that the entire competition framework was now designed to be more balanced and predictable for both the project owner and the contractor. Contractors can find additional details in the documents available on Doffin and at the tender conference on December 17 at Gardermoen.
At the tender conference the NCA will present the project and review key elements in the competition framework, including contract structure and evaluation criteria. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.
The tunnel construction will be announced as a turnkey contract (NS-8407) with negotiations.
The NCA said construction could start in early 2026 and estimated the construction period to be just under five years.
The proposal submitted by the chosen contractor must fall well within the total project budget of NOK5.06bn, as approved by the Norwegian Parliament. If proposals exceed the budget, a revised cost framework may need parliamentary approval.
