Overview
- The project won renewed backing in mid‑June when centre‑left parties included NOK 8.6 billion in a revised national budget and Parliament was set to vote on final approval on Friday.
- The Norwegian Coastal Administration has finished evaluating bids from three consortiums — AF Gruppen, Eiffage Génie Civil, and Skanska/Vassbakk & Stol — and a formal award is expected after any standstill for complaints and final signings.
- The tunnel would cut roughly 1.7 km of rock (2.2 km with entrance structures) through the Stadlandet peninsula with dimensions to fit coastal ships: 50 m high, 36 m wide, 33 m of clearance, and room for drafts up to 12 m and beams up to 16 m.
- Officials say the tunnel is aimed at removing a major chokepoint where storms about 100 days a year and waves up to 30 m delay fishing, cargo and salmon‑farm transports, and they estimate up to a 60% cut in fuel use and emissions if traffic shifts to the tunnel.
- If approvals and contract signing proceed, preparations are targeted to start in early 2027 with physical construction expected to take about five years; the plan was first approved by Parliament in 2021 and was paused in late 2025 over rising material costs.