German minister announces further Fehmarn delay

Sep 29, 2019 | Infrastrukture

The Fehmarnbelt construction project is to be postponed again. This became apparent when the new Danish Transport Minister Ole Birk Olesen met with Schleswig-Holstein’s Transport Minister Reinhard Meyer in Kiel on 12 December.

According to Meyer, the final decision on the start of construction will be delayed by six months, i.e. to mid-2018. The main reason for the delay is the 12,600 objections and complaints that have been received from German Fehmarnbelt opponents.

Tensions have also arisen in the government coalition as Meyer has placed co-responsibiity for the delay with his ministerial colleague for the environment Robert Habeck (Greens). Habeck delivered a statement concerning the protection of porpoises in the Fehmarnbelt two months late, says the Transport Minister. In addition, a statement from the Environmental Protection Agency (Umweltbundesamt) on noise pollution from the tunnel construction has been delayed.

Commenting on the new development, STRING Chairman Steen Bach Nielsen, Region Zealand, says:

“Yet another delay to the German approval process for the Fehmarnbelt project is worrying. We can only hope that the extreme thoroughness in this phase of the process will ensure that any  legal proceedings will proceed quickly and smoothly so that the overall timetable for the project can be maintained and we will be able to drive through the tunnel in 2028.”

In a letter to Schleswig-Holstein’s Transport Minister Reinhard Meyer, STRING’s Chairman Steen Bach Nielsen expressed his serious concerns about the new delay to the approval process. The Chairman has appealed for joint focus on the great potential that the link offers and emphasises the necessity of the overall timetable for the tunnel opening, i.e. by 2028, being maintained.

Share with

Latest Posts

Danish-German conference focussing on green opportunities

Danish-German conference focussing on green opportunities

Danish, German, Swedish and Norwegian politicians, business people, researchers, etc. will meet on 12 June in Rødbyhavn for a conference on future green opportunities in the Fehmarnbelt Region, which will give new perspectives as to the future Fehmarnbelt fixed link....

read more
Rail Freight with the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link

Rail Freight with the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link

Investments are needed to make the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link a game changer for freight transport   Road transport could increase by 120% and rail transport could decrease further once the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link opens, unless investments are made in infrastructure...

read more
Economic impacts in the STRING region from the FBFL

Economic impacts in the STRING region from the FBFL

FBFL: New study documents large potential impacts on trade and labour market   This new study documents the massive potential within trade, business, innovation, and labour market impacts related to the fixed link across the Fehmarn Belt. However, it also stresses the...

read more