News / Tunnel workshops in Glasgow
A SEVEN strong delegation from Shetland Islands Council is in Glasgow meeting with tunneling experts from Norway and the UK in an attempt to resolve the long running argument about a the transport link to Whalsay.
Councillors last month postponed a decision on a new ferry terminal for the island after some islanders came forward with a price of around £35 million for a seven kilometre tunnel to the isle.
The figure was dismissed by UK consultant Andy Sloan who said the final bill would be closer to £110 million.
This week councillors Iris Hawkins, Allan Wishart, Alastair Cooper, Robert Henderson and Laura Baisley were joined by infrastructure director Gordon Greenhill and head of transport Michael Craigie for a series of workshops.
The group are meeting with Professor Sloan and three tunnelling experts from Norway, including Eivind Grov, the vice president of the International Tunneling Association.
Mr Wishart said last night they had spent the day comparing the different business and legislative environments in Norway and the UK, which accounted for some of the vast difference in prices between the two countries.
Norway also has a much more competitive construction environment with one client, the Norwegian roads authority, inviting bids for every project.
“It’s been quite and open and constructive discussion and I think there is a better understanding developing between everybody about different contracting methods, legislative regimes and so on.. There is very little to choose between the different methods used to do the actual tunnelling.
“We hope at the end of the day we will get some clarity on why there seems to be a difference between Norwegian tunnelling prices and UK tunnelling prices.
“We are looking at tunnels in general so anything we learn will be applicable to Whalsay and other tunnel connections in Shetland as well, so it will be quite useful.”
The Norwegian experts are being invited to meet the SIC’s infrastructure committee later this month at which councillors will be expected to make a decision on whether they can go ahead with a fixed link to Whalsay or a new ferry terminal should be built at North Voe.
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