Photo: Ruter

COWI to design one of Scandinavia's largest metro projects

A joint venture between COWI A/S and Multiconsult ASA has won the contract to design the Fornebu Line (Fornebubanen), an 8.5km long extension of the Oslo metro that will link the Fornebu peninsula to the Norwegian capital.

14.09.2017

The metro extension is Oslo's largest transport project in over 20 years.
COWI CEO Lars-Peter Søbye commented: "We are proud to be designing this exciting and hugely important project. As well as the classic tunnel engineering competencies, we will also be consulting on issues related to water and the environment. This underlines that we can deliver multiple services on large and complex infrastructure projects."

The new metro line will run underground from Oslo’s transport hub, Majorstuen, west to Fornebu - a peninsula that was formerly the site of Oslo’s international airport and has since been redeveloped into a mixed residential and business district.

The government's latest National Transport Plan calls for construction of the new line to begin in 2021 and complete in 2025.

Full suit of services

COWI has significant metro design experience having worked on metro projects in Copenhagen, Doha and Athens. With all engineering disciplines in-house, COWI is able to deliver the full suite of services for the Fornebu extension.

The project includes six new stations, the metro tunnel and the design of the underground maintenance centre in Fornebu.

COWI Senior Market Director Knud Erik Christensen commented: "This is a decisive project for COWI, because it emphasises our position as a leading international consultancy on metro projects. We have the experience and the talented engineers, and this is being recognised in the market. The project is large and challenging, and it will make a real difference to mobility in Oslo and contribute to a substantial development of the urban area."

Double in size by 2020

COWI is the third largest consultancy in tunnel design and among the world's leading experts in metro projects. Together, COWI and Multiconsult represents the largest metro, geotechnical and technical consultants in Scandinavia.

Headquartered in Copenhagen, COWI is aiming to double the size of its international arm by 2020 and recently entered the UK market through the acquisitions of tunnel specialist Donaldson Associates and bridge specialists Flint & Neill.

COWI North America is comprised of former engineering consulting firms Buckland & Taylor, Jenny Engineering Corporation, Ben C. Gerwick and Ocean and Coastal Consultants.

About COWI

COWI is a leading consulting group that creates value for customers, people and society through our unique 360° approach. Based on our world-class competencies within engineering, economics and environmental science, we tackle challenges from many vantage points to create coherent solutions for our customer. With around 6500 employees, offices all over the world and more than 85 years of experience in the business, COWI is a leader within its field.