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The Orestad Corporation
The Orestad Corporation has two central tasks. The first task is to build the new Metro in Copenhagen, the other task is to manage the construction and development of the Orestad. The Orestad Corporation sells land and lots for this development. The Orestad Corporation is a partnership established through Act No. 477 of 24 June 1992, with subsequent amendments.
Ownership
The government owns 45 per cent of the Orestad Corporation, while the Municipality of Copenhagen owns 55 per cent. This distribution reflects the ownership of the original Orestad land. The board of the Orestad Corporation consists of six members, who have been appointed by the owners. The Minister of Transport represents the government's ownership interest.
Railway companies
The Orestad Corporation builds the Frederiksberg Railway together with the Borough of Frederiksberg. They have set up the joint partnership of The Frederiksberg Railway Company I/S.
The Orestad Corporation builds the Amager Railway in co-operation with the County of Copenhagen. Their joint partnership set up for this purpose is the East Amager Railway Company I/S.
The Orestad and the Metro - a new set of twins
The Orestad and the Metro are urban development and transport planning rolled up in one. The development of the Orestad follows the new town principle. Briefly stated, this means that the planning of the Orestad infrastructure, the land development and the financing are closely interconnected. This is a novel approach in Danish town planning. The basic idea and the development behind the Orestad may be described in the following brief terms:
- The Orestad Corporation takes over the Orestad land from the owners, i.e. the Municipality of Copenhagen and the Danish government.
- The Orestad Corporation raises loans on commercial market terms, but with joint and several liability by the Danish government and the Municipality of Copenhagen.
- The Orestad Corporation designs, builds and initiates the operation of the new Copenhagen Metro. The corporation continues with the planning and construction of the other infrastructure of the Orestad.
- The Orestad Corporation sells the land to developers and investors. The corporation repays the loans from the surplus made from the proceeds of the sale.
General plan for the Orestad
The General Plan is the basis for the Orestad planning. The plan was created on the basis of a Finnish project, which won the international architectural design competition on the Orestad development. The General Plan provides the framework and opens possibilities for the investors who are to make the Orestad a reality.The General Plan determines among other things the extent and use of the buildings. The Plan also lays down the alignment of the Metro, the overall road structure and the limits of the Orestad in relation to the landscape. The General Plan was incorporated into the current municipal plan for Copenhagen in 1997
Six towns
Two of the six towns in the conurbation are currently under development. These are the University Campus at the northern part of the Orestad, and the Orestad City, which lies immediately north of the area where the Oresound motorway and the Oresound Railway intersect.The Orestad is to consist of six towns with different profiles. The individual neighbourhoods are to be developed and designed as and when the need arises. This is an important element of the strategy behind the urban development of the Orestad.
Building projects within the Orestad
Two new town development areas have concluded a number of agreements on building and land sale. The two first urban areas to be developed are the University Campus at the northern end of the Orestad and Orestad City, which is situated at and around the Metro and train station. Among the buyers may be mentioned the University of Copenhagen, the National Archives, Denmark’s Radio, the pharmaceutical company Ferring A/S, Telia and the Nordic life assurance company KLP.
The Copenhagen Metro
The Metro service offers departures every 90 seconds during rush hours. It is a fast direct link between Copenhagen City, Frederiksberg, northern Amager and the Orestad. The Metro will be the main artery in the Orestad and Copenhagen's new, efficient transport system.The vision for the Metro is to create the best possible public transport system for the passengers. High travel speed, reliable operation and high safety level are key words for the fully automated Metro. It is expected that when both the Metro and the Orestad have been completed, approximately 80 million travellers will use the Metro every year.
The vision for the Metro is to create the best possible collective transport system for the passengers. High travel speed, reliable operation and high safety level are key words for the fully automated Metro.
The construction of the Metro will take place in three stages:
- The first stage of the construction project extends from Norreport via Christianshavn, after which the Metro splits into two lines. One continues to the Orestad and western Amager, the other line continues toward Amagerbro and Lergravsparken. This requires the construction of 6 kilometres of tunnel, 3 kilometres of elevated rails and 2 kilometres of embankment. This stage of the Metro is expected to open in October 2002.
- The second stage extends from Norreport via Frederiksberg to Vanlose. This requires 3.7 kilometres of tunnel and 2.1 kilometres of rails at ground level. This stage of the Metro is expected to open in May 2003.
- The third stage extends from Lergravsparken to Copenhagen Airport. This requires the construction of 200 metres of elevated rails and 4.0 kilometres of embankment. The third stage is to open in 2005, but approval for this stage, including the final design of the stretch, is still pending.
Nine subterranean stations
The Metro will have 22 stations. Nine of the stations are to be tunnel stations. Six of the tunnel stations will be deep underground, the remaining three will be elevated. The deep tunnel stations are basically large rectangular rooms excavated in the ground. They are approximately 20 metres underground, 60 metres long and 20 metres wide. The platform itself lies 18 metres underground. For every 600 metres of tunnel there will be a shaft down to the Metro tunnel. These shafts are to provide access for staff, passage for fresh air, and emergency exit.
The Metro above ground
Twelve kilometres of the Metro run on elevated rails or embankment. This part of the Metro is furnished with stations that are similar in function and design to the tunnel stations. They share for instance the same type of facilities for people, information signs and camera surveillance.
Control and maintenance
The Metro trains are controlled and monitored from the Control and Maintenance Centre (CMC). The centre will have many tasks. Here the trains will be cleaned, prepared for service and receive maintenance. The trains will be parked at the CMC when they are not in operation. The administration and operational organisation of the Metro will also be located here. The Control and Maintenance Centre is under construction at the Orestad.
The Metro contractors
Two main contractors manage the Metro construction project. One is Ansaldo Trasporti, which holds the contract for the entire transport system and the first five years of operation of the Metro. The transport service operation itself will be managed by Metro Service A/S.
The other main contractor is to carry out the building and construction part of the Metro project. This contact was awarded to the COMET consortium. COMET is an acronym standing for the Copenhagen Metro Construction Group. The COMET contract amounts to DKK 2.94 billion. The Orestad Corporation and the consultant engineering firm of COWI are responsible for the construction and site management of the Metro building project.
The Orestad Corporation
Holmens kanal 7, IV floor
1060 København K
Phone: +45 33 11 17 00
Fax: +45 33 11 23 01
Homepage: www.orestad.dk
E-mail: orestad@orestad.dk
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