Preface: Norway plans to build the world’s first tunnel for ships, a 1,700-meter (5,610-feet) passageway burrowed through a piece of rocky peninsula that will allow vessels to avoid a treacherous part of sea.

Construction of the Stad Ship Tunnel, which would be able to accommodate cruise and freight ships weighing up to 16,000 tons, is expected to open in 2023.

It will be 36 meters (118 feet) wide and 49 meters (162 feet) tall and is estimated to cost at least $314 million.

Norwegian Transportation Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen had said Wednesday that sea currents and underwater topography in this part of the country’s southwestern coast “result in particularly complex wave conditions…….”