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Status: 03/11/2020 1:20 pm
The controversial Fehmarnbelt tunnel can be built on the German side. The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has dismissed six lawsuits against the German-Danish billion-dollar project.
The decision to approve the plan had resisted review, Presiding Judge Wolfgang Bier said today at the reasoning in Leipzig. Nature conservationists and several ferry companies, among others, had filed a lawsuit against the one billion dollar project promoted by Denmark (Ref .: BVerwG 9 A 7.19 et al.). They doubt the tunnel is being used enough and fear environmental impacts, for example on porpoises and reefs in the strait. Opponents protested against the construction of the tunnel before the verdict was announced in Leipzig.
Construction law in Denmark for five years
In Denmark there has been a construction law for car and train tunnels since 2015. Neighboring Schleswig-Holstein will plan, build and operate the tunnel at its own cost of approximately € 7.1 billion. The construction time will be a total of six and a half years. According to previous planning, the tunnel should probably connect Germany and Denmark from 2029.
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Contract signed in 2008
The planned 18 kilometer long submerged tunnel between Puttgarden in Fehmarn and Rödby in Lolland is one of the largest transport projects in Europe. In 2008, Germany and Denmark signed the State Treaty on the Fixed Link through the Fehmarnbelt; the treaty was ratified one year and three months later. With construction, the economy hopes to give a boost to regional development.
This is how the scheduled Fehmarnbelt binding should run.
The tunnel is also meant to shorten travel times: between Rödby and Puttgarden from 45 minutes by ferry to about ten minutes by car through the tunnel. According to DB Netz, passenger trains between Hamburg and Copenhagen would only be less than three hours on the road instead of more than five hours.
The connection to the interior is not part of the procedure
Germany has to pay the costs of road and rail connections on the Schleswig-Holstein side in the amount of 3.5 billion euros. This includes a risk cushion of 1.1 billion euros. However, the current procedure only concerns the German section of the Baltic Sea tunnel. The connection to the interior of Germany is subject to an independent approval process. Several municipalities demand better protection against noise.
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