DENMARK: København metro authority Metroselskabet has awarded a contract for the design and construction of an extension of Line M4 to Ydre Nordhavn.
This is intended to provide efficient public transport ‘from day one’ for people who will live and work in the capital’s largest development area, which will eventually have a population of up to 40 000 inhabitants.
M4 extension project
The elevated extension of the automated light metro will run for 1·6 km from Orientkaj to serve two new stations provisionally named v/Levantkaj and v/Nordhavn C. Construction is expected to begin in 2027 for opening in 2030.
V/Levantkaj will be located in the middle of a future residential and commercial area including Nordhavn’s largest school. When the existing container terminal is resited further out into Ydre Nordhavn in 2027, the southern quay will be transformed into a harbour promenade.
V/Nordhavn C will be close to businesses, workshops, restaurants, art, cultural and leisure activities and housing for young people.
The extended metro line will offer a journey time of just 7 min from Nordhavn C to Østerport, and 14 min to the transport hub at the capital’s main railway station.
Early contractor involvement
An early contractor involvement model is being used, with contractors, engineering consultants and architects taking part in the planning phase. this increased collaboration is expected to halve the project’s climate footprint compared to previous metro construction.
Metroselskabet said the tender had attracted a large pool of applicants, with three teams progressing to the final phase before it selected a consortium of contractor MT Højgaard Danmark and consultants Rambøll and Cobe.
The cost of the project is to be determined as part of the planning process, but is expected to be around DKr900m.
‘The team won in particular on the basis of their proposed process for collaboration, design process and pricing of the construction work’, Metroselskabet CEO Carsten Riis explained on October 1. ‘We have great ambitions to deliver a metro that supports life in the city and climate-friendly urban development in Nordhavn. By involving the contractor, architects and consultants at an even earlier stage, we will have a better opportunity to bring all parties’ competencies into play and incorporate the latest knowledge about methods and materials into the work.’
A project ‘you tell your children about’
Ib Enevoldsen, CEO of Rambøll Denmark, said the project would support a vision of the ‘5 min city’, with public transport and other facilities being within a 5 min walk from anywhere in the district.
Cobe founder and architect Dan Stubbergaard said the metro supported ‘the vision of a district where it is easier to walk, cycle or take public transport than to drive.’
Christoffer Tarp, Area Director for Construction & Infrastructure at MT Højgaard Denmark, said the M4 extension project would be ‘large and complex — the kind of thing you tell your children about’.
