Fehmarnbelt preferred bidders appointed

The awarding authority, Femern A/S, has appointed preferred bidders for the 18 km main tunnel and associated dredging contracts with the aim of entering conditional contracts no later than mid-May 2016.

It said conditional contracts meant that final and binding contracts would be signed with the successful contractors, but that construction work would be postponed until the German construction permit is in place.

Femern said the contracts were valid until the end of 2019 with the option to renegotiate at that time, but the contracts were contingent upon final German regulatory approval.

The preferred bidders to build the immersed tunnel (consisting of 89 pre-cast concrete elements formed in a purpose-built factory on the Danish side of the project) are:

Consortium: Femern Link Contractors (FLC)

Contractors:
VinciI Construction Grands Projets (France)
Per Aarsleff (Denmark)
Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau (Germany)
Max Bögl Stiftung & Co (Germany)
CFE (Belgium)
Solétance-Bachy International (France)
BAM Infra (Netherlands)
BAM International (Netherlands)

Sub-contractor:
Dredging International (Belgium)
Consultant:

COWI (Denmark)

And the preferred bidders to build the portals and ramps for the project are:

Consortium: Femern Link Contractors (FLC)

Contractors:
Per Aarsleff (Denmark)
Vinci Construction Grands Projets (France)
Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau (Germany)
Max Bögl Stiftung & Co (Germany)
CFE (Belgium)
Solétance-Bachy International (France)
Bam Infra (Netherlands)
Bam International (Netherlands)

Consultant:
COWI (Denmark)

Finally, the preferred bidders for the dredging and reclamation contract are:

Consortium: Fehmarn Belt Contractors (FBC)

Contractors:
Boskalis International (Netherlands)
Hochtief Solutions (Germany)
Ed. Züblin (Germany)
Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors (Netherlands)

Consultants:
SWECO Danmark (Denmark)

There are also a number of other contracts connected to the Fehmarnbelt project, not least a joint venture bid by rental companies Ramirent and Zeppelin (known as Fehmarnbelt Solution Service) to offer a 24/7 equipment service on site with rental depots on the Danish and German side.

Danish transport and construction minister Hans Chr. Schmidt said, “Because Of the delay of the German regulatory approval, we are in a difficult situation - construction work on the immersed tunnel project cannot be launched, but we want to maintain the good prices that Femern A/S received in September 2015. Today, we have chosen a model for handling of contracts that take care of this situation in the best possible way.”