New subsea tunnels face years of deficits

Two years have passed since the official opening of the Tórshavn-Eysturoy subsea tunnel.

It soon became clear that the projected traffic figures did not match reality, and this means that the tunnel will be operating in deficits for many years to come, says Teitur Samuelsen, CEO of tunnel company Eystur- og Sandoyartunlar.

“With the current toll prices, we need about 7,200 vehicles a day to break even. This year’s daily average has been about 5,000, so we have some way to go,” he says.

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“We lowered the toll prices a year ago, and given the current traffic figures, we will probably be seeing deficits for some time to come.”

The Streymoy-Sandoy subsea tunnel, scheduled to open to traffic this time next year, is unlikely to improve the tunnel finances as only 350 vehicles are expected to use it daily.

The government has committed to cover the tunnel deficits. This year’s deficit is just over DKK 50 million, and a deficit of DKK 40 million is projected in the 2023 budget proposal.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

More Faroese News in English.