World’s first ship tunnel is set to be constructed in Norway. Construction on the project will start in 2022 and it will be completed by 2025-2026.
About Ship Tunnel
Norway has planned to construct Ship tunnel underneath the mountains in Stadhavet peninsula of Norway. The tunnel will be 37 meters high, 1,700 metres long and 26.5 metres wide. A total of $315 million would be spent in constructing ship tunnel. Tunnel will burrow through narrowest point of Stadhavet peninsula. Conventional blasting will be employed to build tunnel. It will also use underground drilling rigs and pallet rigs. Tunnel was included in the National Transport Plan for the first time in 2013. Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications approved for preparations to start in March 2021.
Significance of the tunnel
The Ship Tunnel Project has been designed to help in navigation of ships through rough and treacherous Stadhavet Sea in north western Norway. Currently, ships have to wait for few days so that harsh weather conditions and rough tides conditions in Stadhavet Sea is improved before transiting the area.
Stad or Stadlandet peninsula
This peninsula lies in Stad Municipality in north western part of Nordfjord district in Norway. It is considered as the dividing point between Norwegian Sea and the North Sea. It is a 500-metre-high mountain plateau comprising of a 645-metre-tall Tarvaldsegga peak. It plunges into sea in a 497-metre-tall cliff at Kjerringa.