Consortia from eight countries have applied to tender for the construction of a 19-kilometre-long Baltic Sea tunnel between Denmark and Germany, dpa quoted the company directing the project as saying Tuesday. Consortia from the two countries involved, as well as from Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and South Korea, applied for pre-qualification, Femern A/S said. Femern is to select the strongest candidates before it finally calls for tenders for the project later this year. Construction on the 5.5-billion-euro (7.3-billion-dollar) tunnel, between Rodby in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany, is planned to start in 2015. From 2021 the tunnel is to cut the journey time between Copenhagen and Hamburg from four and a half hours to three and a half hours.
