Implenia Wins Major Contract for Deep Geological Repository in Sweden
In June 2025 Implenia has signed an “Early Contractor Involvement” contract with Swedish company SKB (Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB) to build the first underground section of a deep repository for radioactive waste near the Forsmark nuclear power plant in Eastern Sweden. The project includes the phases planning, design and construction of an access tunnel to the first storage level, three vertical shafts for ventilation and an elevator, a central area as well as main and transport tunnels – all at depths of up to 500 m.
Expansion Into an Underground System with 66 Kilometres of Tunnels by the 2080s
The planning phase will begin in autumn 2025 and will be followed by the design and construction phases. The project will be finished by 2033. Across all project phases, the contract volume amounts to several hundred million Swiss francs. “We are very proud to have been awarded
this important contract and would like to thank SKB for the trust they have placed in us. The project requires a great deal of geological and technical tunnelling expertise and precision,” says Erwin Scherer, Head Division Civil Engineering at Implenia. “Building the deep repository is an important step in our mission to safely dispose of radioactive waste. We are pleased to have signed a collaboration agreement with Implenia as Implenia possesses solid expertise and experience in rock excavation and infrastructure projects,” says Stefan Engdahl, CEO of SKB. The client SKB plans to expand the deep repository into an underground system covering up to 4 km2 and around 66 km of tunnels by the 2080s. It will then offer space for storing up to 12 000 t of radioactive material in rock that is 1.9 billion years old.
