A bill on the funding of a tunnel through the mountain Vaðlaheiði, improving road connections between Akureyri and Húsavík in northeast Iceland, was passed with a large majority at the Icelandic parliament, Alþingi, yesterday.
Inside Alþingi. Archive photo by Páll Kjartansson.
A total of 29 MPs voted in favor of the bill, 13 against, five abstained and 16 were not present during the vote, Morgunblaðið reports.
Of those in favor, 14 MPs came from the Social Democrats and eight from the other coalition party, the Left-Greens.
Some opposition members were also in favor of the bill, four MPs of the Progressive Party and two from the Independence Party, along with Guðmundur Steingrímsson, who works independently.
Many of those who had expressed their opposition to the tunnel project being embarked upon outside the transport strategy either abstained or were absent.
The project enjoyed the most support among MPs of the Northeast and Reykjavík North constituencies.
Click here to read more about the disputed tunnel.
ESA
