The Norwegian Public Roads Authority (NPRA) has awarded a public-private partnership (PPP) contract valued at US$2.27 billion (NOK 19.8 billion) to fund, design, construct and operate a 9.4 km four The lane-to-road link is a multinational Sotra Link consortium jointly owned by Australia Macquarie Group, South Korean civil engineering company SK Ecoplant and Italy Webuild.

The project aims to improve traffic between Bergen and Sotra Island on the west coast and includes a 900-meter-long suspension bridge and a 12.5-kilometer-long tunnel. This is the largest PPP contract in the EU ever obtained by NPRA, NPRA said.

Sotra Link will operate and maintain the link for 25 years after it opens to traffic in 2027. The consortium is 70% owned by Macquarie Group, 20% owned by SK Ecoplant, and 10% owned by Webuild. The financial settlement of the transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2022. Webuild said that the construction part of the project is worth more than 1 billion euros, of which it owns 35% of the shares.

It says that the main bridge is 30m wide and the tower is 114m high. This route requires a total of 19 roads and pedestrian underpasses, 23 tunnel entrances, 22 bridges and viaducts, and 14 kilometers of sidewalks and bicycle paths. Also participating in the project are Norconsult and Multiconsult's Norwegian offices, Swiss engineer Pini, Spain's FCC and Hungary's Intertoll.

Rising costs

Sotra Link is one of the two consortiums that submitted the final bid in early August. The other is ITIAS, which is composed of Italian contractor Itinera, its parent company, Italian toll road operator ASTM, and Japanese bridge builder IHI Corporation. Both final bids exceeded the initial target value of NPRA's 17.5 billion Norwegian Kroner PPP, so the government increased the budget accordingly.

It stated that the increase in costs was due to the increase in raw material prices caused by the pandemic and the greater risks undertaken by contractors. The cost also includes planned link upgrades for the 12th, 17th, and 23rd years of the franchise period, and then revert to NPRA ownership in 2052. NPRA estimates that the total value of the link, including preparations that began in 2018, will reach NOK 23.1 billion.

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"Sotra Link provided a very competitive bid for the Sotra connection contract and assumed considerable responsibility and risk for the implementation of the project at the agreed time and price," said Kjell Inge Davik, NPRA's construction supervisor. The company has extensive experience in the implementation of PPP contracts, as well as extensive experience in the construction of suspension bridges and tunnels. We look forward to working closely with Sotra Link for many years to come."Editor/Baohongying