Hirtshals prepares for landmark expansion

The port expansion aims to significantly improve the navigation conditions and optimise the port’s facilities, while allowing even more space for green energy projects.

”With this tender, we take yet another significant step towards realising the port expansion, expected to be completed in 2027,” said Per Holm Nørgaard, CEO, Port of Hirtshals.

”It once again emphasises the substantial development of Port of Hirtshals, which is intended to support the port’s crucial role as a central traffic hub between Norway and Europe and as a key player in the green transition, where both the port’s facilities and navigational conditions will be crucial for the green transformation.”

Mega project

The port is to be expanded partly to improve the navigation conditions, allowing larger ships to dock at the port in harsher weather conditions than is currently the case, and partly to establish marshalling and industrial areas on the port premises.

But the tender, together with the recent grant of DKK 109 million to the Greenport Scandinavia consortium, will also help the port realise its green ambitions establishing Northern Europe’s largest hub for the storage and shipment of CO2.

The EU tender for the port expansion is a negotiated tender. This means that, within the first month, a number of companies will be prequalified to submit an initial offer, which will then be part of individual negotiations between Port of Hirtshals and the bidders towards the final bid.

The benefits of a negotiated EU tender include the opportunity for the port to obtain the most optimal design for the port expansion, ensuring control over construction costs from the beginning. 

Port of Hirtshals expects to submit the final bid for approval to the Hjørring City Council no later than Autumn 2024.