By Ashley Karen
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) has selected Skanska, as a part of a consortium, as the preferred bidder for the E10/rv. 85 Tjeldsund-Gullesfjordbotn-Langvassbukt road project in northern Norway.
The scope of the project for Skanska contains designing, building, operating and maintaining the road for 15 years from completion.
The project is being procured as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) by NPRA and is part of the transport connection between Lofoten, Vesterålen Harstad/ Narvik Airport and the E6.
It comprises the construction and operation of 82 kilometers of new and upgraded roads with seven new tunnels and 22 bridges.
The project will improve road safety, shorten the trip distance by about 30 kilometers and cut the travel time by nearly 40 minutes. The E10/rv. 85 project also includes a pilot project for NPRA to test measures for greener and more environmentally friendly development.
As NPRA estimated, the total value of the construction contract will be around NOK 11.3 billion, and the operating and maintenance contract is estimated to be NOK 1.0 billion for the period.
No order booking will be accounted for until the contract is completed, which is anticipated during the second quarter of 2023.
Initial works are predicted to begin early in the summer of 2023, and the construction phase for the project is envisioned to last for a total of 5.5 years.
