Scandlines Files a Lawsuit Against the Plan Approval for the Construction of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link
Scandlines filed a lawsuit against the “plan approval” decision for the construction of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link at the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig (8 May).
In the Federal Republic of Germany, the “plan approval” is a special administrative procedure to be carried out on the permissibility of significant infrastructure projects.
Despite numerous adjustments to the plan documents in the course of the planning approval procedure, a large number of planning deficits have still not been remedied. Some of these unresolved issues have a direct negative impact on Scandlines’ ferry and business operations.
“After extensive examination of the documents established by the decision of 31 January 2019 we came to the conclusion that this legal step is inevitable. Scandlines will continue to operate after the tunnel opening. In the future, we want to continue to offer our customers the same high-quality ferry service we have been offering for over 55 years, “says Søren Poulsgaard Jensen, Scandlines’ CEO.
While the Danish project promoter denies the possibilities of a ferry operation parallel to the tunnel, an expert report commissioned by the planning approval authority comes to a completely different conclusion. This will continue to attribute 40% of the roadside freight traffic to the ferry line – plus a significant number of passengers.
The prerequisite for this, however, is fair and balanced tunnel planning, which also takes into account the legitimate interests of Scandlines.