The 1.7-kilometre Stad Ship Tunnel, which will have a pair of stone entrances designed by Snøhetta, has been given the green light and construction is now set to begin in 2022.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA) received an assignment letter from the Ministry of Transport and Communications to begin preparing for the construction of the project.
Designed to make shipping safer along the west coast of Norway, the  Stad Ship Tunnel will connect the Kjødepollen bay and Vanylvsfjorden so that cargo and passenger ships of up to 16,000 tonnes can avoid dangerous shipping routes around the Stad peninsula. It is believed to be the first tunnel for large ships built anywhere in the world.
"This is a large, comprehensive, and not at least interesting project," said NCA director general Einar Vik Arse. "We are more than ready to build the world's first full-scale ship tunnel."
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