STOCKHOLM, Sweden, March 24, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Skanska is now starting the tunnel construction through the Hallandsas ridge following receipt of all necessary permits. Accordingly, Skanska is now including SEK 2,380 M in order bookings for the first quarter of 2004. This corresponds to 60 percent of the total value of the contract for the Skanska-Vinci consortium.
Skanska's order bookings are distributed between the Skanska Sweden business unit, SEK 1,983 M, and the Skanska International (formerly Skanska International Projects) business unit, SEK 397 M. The contract from 2002 from the Swedish Rail Administration and Skanska/Vinci now becomes effective following the resolution of the permit issues. The original contract value has been adjusted to present money values and certain additional work has been included.
Work to complete the tunnel construction begins immediately. The tunneling machine that will drive and seal the tunnels with prefabricated concrete linings has been ordered for start of production in late 2005.
During the period that the permit issues were considered, Skanska/Vinci and the Rail Administration developed an alternative method for reinforcing the geologically difficult Molleback zone. The method involves freezing the rock formation successively with air at the tunnel level. As a result, the highly debated work site at the surface is not needed.
The rail tunnel through the Hallandsas ridge on the West Coast Line will increase the capacity on the Goteborg-Malmo route from 3-4 trains per hour to slightly more than 20, while at the same time traffic with heavier freight trains is possible. The tunnels are planned to be opened for traffic in 2012.
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