A total of six companies expressed an interest in constructing the Stad ship tunnel ahead of a 31 January deadline.

The Norwegian Coastal Administration (Kystverket) has announced that two Norwegian bidders, one Spanish-Norwegian, and one French are still in the running after it completed its evaluation of the expressions of interest.

The four companies still in the competition for the design-build contract are:

• A joint venture between Skanska Norge and Vassbakk og Stol (Norway)
• AF Gruppen Norge (Norway)
• Eiffage G茅nie Civil (France)
• A joint venture between Acciona Construcci贸n and Bertelsen og Garpestad (Spain/Norway)

That means that two Chinese entities have not qualified to bid: a joint venture between PowerChina International Group, Sichuan Road and Bridge Corporation, Sinohydro Bureau 7, PowerChina Huadong Engineering (China); and a joint venture between China Road and Bridge Corporation, CCCC Second Highway Engineering Co, CCCC Highway Consultants Co. (China).

Kystverket director general Einar Vik Arset said, 鈥淲e have completed thorough evaluations of the interested contractors and are pleased to bring four solid contractor groups forward in the competition to build the world鈥檚 first ship tunnel. We are ensuring healthy competition by going forward with these four contractors, and we believe this will impact both price and quality.鈥�

Stad ship tunnel project manager Harald Inge Johnsen added, 鈥淭he qualification requirements are absolute. For the contractors, this round was about demonstrating technical and professional qualifications, especially through reference projects. The four contractors advancing have responded well to this, while the two excluded bidders have qualitative deficiencies.

鈥淚f the contractors鈥� written documentation does not meet the qualification requirements, they must be rejected in accordance with procurement regulations.

鈥淭he Norwegian Coastal Administration鈥檚 assessment is that the two excluded bidders have not documented sufficient experience of relevant nature and complexity, including work with injection in very hard rock and the design and execution of water and frost protection.鈥�

In addition to technical and professional qualifications, the contractors are also evaluated concerning financial and ethical requirements, and ensuring all certifications are in order.

The four qualified bidders have been invited to meetings at Stadlandet on 10 and 11 March where they will receive more information about the project, including a site inspection of the tunnel areas.

The deadline for initial bids is 1 June. Kystverket said it aimed to sign a contract in the autumn of 2025 and start construction in 2026.

The project involves building 1.7km long, 50 metre-high, and 36 metre-wide tunnel that allows vessels to safely navigate past Stadlandet where there has been a series of shipping accidents over the years. The work is expected to take five years.