Design-build contracts valued at $4.5 billion for the world's longest immersed tube tunnel, between Denmark and Germany, were signed in Copenhagen on May 30. Construction on the 18-kilometer Femernbelt tunnel is set to start in January 2018 and last eight and a half years.
"Our prime focus now is on obtaining German approval, which is a condition for getting construction underway," says Claus Baunkjær, chief executive officer of the Danish project developer Femern A/s. Environmental objections on the German side of the crossing are still under review.