The Norwegian Coastal Administration has awarded AF Gruppen the engineering and construction contract for the Stad Ship Tunnel, the world’s first tunnel built specifically for maritime traffic.
The turnkey contract is valued at approximately NOK 5.6 billion ($564.5 million), excluding VAT, and covers the construction of a fully equipped ship tunnel with all required maritime installations.
Developed in partnership with engineering consultant Norconsult, the project will create a 1.7-kilometre-long tunnel linking the Norwegian Sea with the North Sea, allowing vessels to bypass the hazardous waters around the Stadlandet peninsula while remaining inside Norway’s fjord network.
The tunnel will measure 45 metres in height and 36 metres in width, passing beneath a 645-metre mountain. It will accommodate vessels with a maximum draft of 12 metres, including coastal cargo ships and passenger vessels such as those operated on the Hurtigruten and Kystruten routes.
Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2027 and is expected to take approximately five years.
Once completed, the tunnel will provide a safer year-round route for vessels sailing between Bergen and Ålesund, eliminating the need to navigate one of Norway’s most weather-exposed stretches of coastline.
The project has been discussed for more than 150 years. The first published proposal appeared in 1874, while formal planning began in 2013, when the project was included in Norway’s National Transport Plan. The government officially announced plans to build the tunnel in 2017, and state funding was approved in 2021. Earlier plans had envisioned construction starting in 2022, but the project was delayed before now reaching the contract award stage.
AF Gruppen CEO Amund Tøftum described the Stad Ship Tunnel as one of the most unique infrastructure projects the company has undertaken, noting that it has attracted significant interest both in Norway and internationally.
