Gothenburg City Council last week passed a resolution to grant more than €120,000,000 to finance the Skandia Gateway project – aimed at deepening the fairway leading into the Port of Gothenburg.
The sum was matched by the Swedish Transport Administration as part of the national infrastructure plan, and as a result the project is fully funded.
According to an official announcement, the three parties now have a firm basis for entering into an implementation agreement.
Commenting the latest news, Elvir Dzanic , Gothenburg Port Authority chief executive, said: “This is the most important port project in Sweden this century. Gothenburg has been the logistics capital of Scandinavia for 400 years and following this decision it is set to consolidate and build on that position for the next 400 years.”
At the moment, the very largest ships can only call at the Port of Gothenburg half loaded, and the ships that are required to keep pace with global maritime expansion are becoming bigger by the year.
“This is a race where we need to keep up if we are to maintain our position as a major international port here in Sweden. Without the largest ships the port will be marginalised, forcing many Swedish companies into using inefficient alternatives that are damaging to the environment and with a resulting loss of competitiveness,” said Dzanic.
Skandia Gateway is a joint project being run by the Gothenburg Port Authority, the Swedish Maritime Administration, and the Swedish Transport Administration.
With funding now in place, the three organisations can move forward and enter into an implementation agreement for this much sought-after project.