News

Residents of Kristiansand and Grimstad, two thriving cities on the east coast of Norway, welcomed their King at the opening of the new E18 highway last month. Also on hand to welcome the Norwegian monarch were BBAG Executive Director, Kenneth Reid and BBPI Managing Director, Dirk Soehngen.

The scale of this PPP project, in which BBPI is a major shareholder, is breathtaking. Constructed by a joint venture, led by sister company BB Civil, the 38km dual carriageway carves through a very rugged and extremely beautiful landscape. A total of seven tunnels and six major bridges were completed as part of the contract, any one of these structures would constitute a major project in its own right. A key feature of the construction was the quantity of rock that had to be blasted out of the mountainside to accommodate the new road. A very high proportion of the blasted material was crushed and re-used as part of the new highway.

Journey times between Kristiansand and Grimstad are now significantly reduced as a result of the new road. More importantly however, the congested and accident prone coastal highway that used to be the only link between the two cities, will now be a good deal safer and much more peaceful for the many local people that live along the route.