The Norwegian government has submitted a white paper on transportation (National Transport Plan 2018-2029) on 5 April 2017, confirming the funding for the Stad Ship Tunnel among other proposals. It will be the first ship tunnel of this size in the world, and makes one of the most challenging and hazardous shipping lanes in Norwegian waters safer for sea transport.
In Norwegian National Transport Plan (NTP) 2018-2029 the Stad ship tunnel has been granted funding in the first period of the plan (six years). Calculations performed in conjunction with the technical pilot project shows that the ship tunnel has an estimated cost of NOK 2.7 billion. Funding of NOK 1.5 billion is included in the first period of the NTP, 2018 to 2023.
“This is good news, and in line with NCA recommendations as part of the impact assessment. There are still many pieces of the puzzle that needs to be put into place before construction can start, but we have previously stated that the actual construction could be at the earliest in 2019, “says project manager for Stad ship tunnel at NCA, Terje Andreassen.
NCAs recommendations were made on the basis of monetized and non-monetized impacts.
The impact assessment and the technical pilot project is part of the pilot project that the NCA shall deliver to the Ministry of Transport and Communication in the spring of 2017. Further, the project will undergo an external quality assurance process (KS2) before the project is presented to the Parliament, who then formally decides on project funding. During a press conference in early March this year, consensus among a majority in Parliament for the realization of the world’s first full-scale ship tunnel was presented.
Source: NCA
