Femern A/S deals with activities at an earlier stage

This follows the recent decision by the Folketing's finance committee to increase the budget for the project planning for the Fixed Link. The increase means that budget funds are being moved from the construction phase to the current project planning phase.

The detailed preparations for the invitation to tender process are designed to ensure that construction can start as soon as possible when the Folketing has passed a construction act. The VTS system will monitor shipping during the construction phase and the shipping authorities have recommended that the system be put into operation a year before the construction work actually begins.

The other activities that have been moved from the construction phase also include environmental studies and project planning as a consequence of a new interpretation by the EU of the Directive on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. The new interpretation has meant that Femern A/S has had to select the production site in Rødbyhavn in advance. Contractors previously had to select the site for production and obtain environmental approval during the preparation of their tenders.

All the activities brought forward for the coast-to-coast link entail the transfer of approximately EUR 120 million from the Femern A/S construction budget to the project planning budget, which thus amounts to approximately EUR 377.4 million against the previous total of approximately EUR 252.5 million.

To this are added activities for a further EUR 67.1 million for Banedanmark's detailed project planning and invitation to tender process for rail construction on shore, i.e. between Ringsted and Holeby. Bringing this activity forward means that the construction work for the railway can be started when a construction act has been passed. The project planning budget for the Danish onshore construction amounts to EUR 91.9 million.

The construction budget for the coast-to-coast link is expected to increase by EUR 377.4 billion in relation to the construction estimate of November 2010. The increase is because Rødbyhavn has been chosen as the production site as a consequence of the EU Commission's new interpretation of the Directive on the assessment of the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment. The construction estimate was based on the contractors wanting to choose production facilities in Poland, and siting them in Denmark entails a higher level of pay and costs.

Therefore, the total construction budget for the coast-to-coast link is expected to be EUR 5.5 billion (2008 prices). The calculation shows that the expected repayment period for the entire Fehmarnbelt project is thus extended by three years to 39 years.