Jan De Nul helps build the Oosterweel connection

Scheldt tunnel becomes the queen piece

Lantis, as client for the Oosterweel connection, awarded the contract for the realization of the Scheldt Tunnel on June 3, 2020, to the Temporary Trade Association Combination Oosterweel Tunnel, abbreviated THV COTU.

THV COTU is composed of the Belgian construction groups Besix, BAM Contractors, DEME and Jan De Nul nv.

The Scheldetunnel is the most important link in the Oosterweel connection and will close the Antwerp Ring on the northern side. The tunnel has a total length of 1,800 m and is being built using the immersed-tunnel method.

In this process, 8 tunnel elements of about 60,000 tons each are built in the inner port of Zeebrugge and then floated to Antwerp via the North Sea and the Western Scheldt. There they are sunk one after the other in a previously dredged sinking trench in the Scheldt. This technique, in which gravity and the buoyant force of water constantly compete, is one of the most ingenious construction methods in concrete and hydraulic engineering.

THV COTU is aware of the challenges of such a project, in a technically difficult environment like the Scheldt in Antwerp, but has the necessary expertise and experience to face the realization of this queen piece of the Oosterweel link with confidence.

This contract has a value of €570 million excluding VAT. The first preparatory works will start in the fall of 2020. Construction works for the tunnel itself will begin after the summer of 2021.