Construction contractors Højgaard Denmark and BESIX will finalise a deal this month to build the Nordhavnstunnel in the Danish capital Copenhagen.

The €349.6 million Nordhavnstunnel contract was awarded by the Danish Road Directorate / Vejdirektoratet. The Højgaard / BESIX joint venture will work closely with project management consultancy Niras, electrical contractor Bravida Danmark and engineering services company Jacobs Sverige. The tunnel is expected to be commissioned in 2027.

The 1.4km cut-and-cover tunnel, to be built in sections in-situ, will run from Svanevænget across the Svanemøllehavn harbour (Svanemølle Bay) to Nordhavn. The consortium will cast the tunnel sections in-situ and around 700m will be underwater. It will connect Østerbro with outer Nordhavn and provide easier access to the port area.

Other work includes local road upgrades and junction improvements, mechanical and electrical works and traffic control systems.

The Højgaard-BESIX joint venture won over other bidders, including Acciona Construction with CG Jensen, Sweco Danmark and Sweco Infra & Rail; Per Aarsleff, Vinci Construction Grands Projets and Hochtief Infrastructure, with support from Cowi and Wicotec Kirkebjerg; and Züblin and MJ Eriksson with support from Strabag.

According to the Danish Road Directorate, when the tunnel opens it will handle around 8,200 cars a day and act as preparation work for a future Eastern Ring Road in the capital city.

As part of the project, the Road Directorate is also constructing a temporary replacement harbor at Færgehavn Nord, to where about half of the around 1,500 boats in Svanemølle Harbour will be moved. A tunnel under Svanemølle Bay will also improve accessibility for heavy traffic to the container terminal and the cruise terminal.

Nordhavn will be directly connected to the overall national road network via the Nordhavnstunnellen and Nordhavnsvej. Nordhavnstunnellen will be, as a continuation of Nordhavnsvejen, a municipal road.

The Danish win for BESIX comes after successful completion of the Crown Princess Mary’s Bridge in 2019, whose construction was covered in a World Highways report.

It was announced in September 2016 that BESIX, in a joint venture (RBAI) with Italian firm Rizzani de Eccher and Spanish company Acciona Infraestructuras, had been chosen for the €133 million project. Officially called the Fjord Link Frederikssund Design & Build Contract, it consists of a four-lane 8.2km dual carriageway – part of Denmark’s Primary Route 53 – with a “High Bridge” over the Roskilde Fjord.

In September 2020, BESIX was part of the joint venture BERINOR, including Rizzani de Eccher, to design the E6 Moelv-Roterud infrastructure project in Norway. The project includes a 1km main bridge over Lake Mjøsa and an 11km section of a four-lane motorway. The bridge will be the world’s longest structural timber crossing.