By rosebell
A government instruction has been received by the Norwegian Coastal Administration to halt work on the Stad Ship Tunnel.
As part of the proposed national budget for 2026, the government has halted work until its budget proposal has been considered by the Norwegian Parliament.
According to coastal director Einar Vik Arset: “The Norwegian Coastal Administration takes note of the government’s announcement. We are suspending our activities until the parliament has completed its deliberations on the national budget, and we receive a final decision. This also includes the tender process for the construction of the ship tunnel.”
The date of presenting the budget proposal by government will be on Wednesday 15 October, whereas this is due to be followed by budget negotiations, and the scheduled date for adopting final budget by parliament is December.
Arset added: “Many interested parties awaited the decision.Future users of the ship tunnel, municipalities, and regional stakeholders have invested resources in this. We now await the outcome of the parliament’s deliberations.”
With 1.7km length, 50m hight and 36m width, the Stad Ship Tunnel would be the world’s first full-scale ship tunnel once completed, while this structure would enable cargo and passenger vessels to bypass the hazardous waters around the Stad peninsula.
Being under evaluation since the 1990s, this nitiative was approved by the Norwegian Parliament in 2021.
In June, three prequalified bidders – Skanska Norge AS and Vassbakk & Stol AS (Norway); AF Gruppen Norge AS (Norway); and Eiffage Génie Civil (France) – submitted tenders to build the tunnel. The NCA planned to award the contract this autumn and for construction to start next year.
