Norwegian government proposes scrapping Stad ship tunnel project again

The Norwegian government has once again proposed abandoning plans for the controversial Stad ship tunnel, allocating no funding in its revised national budget, Aftenposten reports.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg confirmed to the newspaper that zero kroner has been set aside for the project, which was approved by parliament in 2021 with an expected cost of no more than 5 billion kroner. The latest estimate from the Norwegian Coastal Administration now stands at 8.6 billion kroner.

“The project exceeds the cost framework approved by parliament by at least 3 billion kroner, even before construction has begun,” Støre stated. “It has become too expensive, so we are now putting an end to it.”

The tunnel, intended to create a safer passage through the storm-prone Stadhavet waters, was previously proposed for cancellation in last autumn’s budget but was reinstated by parliamentary decision. The government now seeks to redirect the funds to other priorities.