New metro line focuses on neighbourhood involvement and urban biodiversity  

03.11.2023 

COWI will assist Metroselskabet with securing areas and rights for the construction of the proposed new M5 metro line in Copenhagen, focusing on biodiversity and social sustainability. 

Together with subconsultants from the land surveying consultancy LE34 and the strategic innovation agency IS IT A BIRD, COWI is responsible for preparing the civil works for the new metro line. 

“We look forward to being part of ensuring a positive dialogue with neighbours of the future metro line and increasing urban biodiversity, benefiting both people and nature,” says Gitte Godsk Dalgaard, Senior Vice President at COWI. 

The proposed M5 metro expansion is expected to consist of ten stations from Copenhagen Central Station via Islands Brygge, Amagerbrogade and Refshaleøen to Lynetteholm and Østerport. The new line will help address capacity challenges in the existing metro system over the harbour and contribute to sustainable development in new urban areas. 

Metroselskabet aims to halve the carbon footprint of new metro lines, including the M5, compared to previous lines while prioritising the metro’s contribution to the city, including social sustainability.

COWI’s focus is on ensuring that civil works can begin according to plan, that the use of the areas contributes to increased urban biodiversity and connectivity to the city, and on ensuring a trust-based dialogue with possibly affected neighbours of the future metro. 

“It is a complex and incredibly important task to ensure a fair and inclusive process with landowners and neighbours, and we are humbled to have been given the task of ensuring a positive dialogue and urban biodiversity,” says Jakob Højgaard-Geraae, Senior Project Manager on the project for COWI. 

The M5 is expected to open in 2035.