Netherlands tenders Blankenburg tunnel P3

Rijkswaterstaat, the Netherlands’ government procuring agency, has launched a tender process for the Blankenburg Connection project which it will procure under a design, build, finance and maintain contract.

The project involves building the Blankenburg tunnel, which will be about 950m long and will pass under Het Scheur, a branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in the southern part of the country; and the Aalkeet tunnel, which will be 510m long.

Other key elements of the project include widening a portion of the A20 highway and building a new A24 that will span about 4km linking the A20 with the A15.

Part of the Rotterdam Forward Masterplan drafted in 2009, the aim of the Blankenburg Connection project is to relieve traffic congestion in the area and increase accessibility to the Rotterdam region, according to the Rijkswaterstaat website.

Construction will take six years to complete and the preferred bidder will maintain the asset for 20 years thereafter.

Interested parties have until 20 June to submit letters of interest. The procuring agency expects to name a preferred bidder in the second quarter of 2017 and to reach commercial and financial close in the fourth quarter of the same year.