The paper reports on the procedure and the results of the enquiry of commercial interest (ECI) which was recently carried out by the Fehmarnbelt Development Joint Venture (FDJV) on behalf of the Danish and German Ministries of Transport. The ECI was completed in June 2002. The 20-km fixed link which may be developed as a tunnel or a bridge project is mentioned in the European Commission's recent White Paper on Transport Policy as a priority project of the European Union to develop the trans-European transport networks (TEN-Ts).The objective of the ECI was to assess the preparedness of the private sector to develop this combined road/rail project either as a BOT or as a PPP project. It is based on technical and socio-economic feasibility studies carried out earlier. The ECI was open to all interested parties; the call for participation was published in the EU Official Journal in May 2001. Some 80 parties responded either as individual companies or as partners of consortia: construction companies, concession holders, banks and financial advisers, engineering consultants, insurers etc. In a first step, interested parties were requested to answer a detailed questionnaire. Some 50 replies were received. This was followed by interviews of those participants who have solid experience regarding one or several aspects of the project and who have expressed relevant ideas for the implementation of the fixed link. Based on the outcome, the FDJV consultants have developed alternative models for optimised project implementation including: technical solutions (bored or immersed tunnel(s); suspended or cable-stayed bridge); services to be provided and ways of revenue generation; financial structure; risk sharing; organisational structure. This type of enquiry was carried out for the first time in Europe. Particular items of general interest are amongst others: the revenue generation of a combined road and rail link; the linkage between risk sharing and financial structuring, and the institutional framework for an international BOT or PPP project. For the covering abstract see ITRD E124693.
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