The City of Malmö has signed an agreement with Skanska Sweden to build a major new port facility for Copenhagen Malmö Port (CMP) in Norra Hamnen. The SEK 845 million contract includes three new terminals and will completely transform the port as we know it today.
Building work will commence in April 2009 and the new facility is scheduled to come on stream in the first quarter of 2011. The turnkey contractor expects to employ an average of 100 people on the project. Ramböll has been chosen as consultant to the contractors.
The new facility at Norra Hamnen will move the majority of freight traffic out of the inner city. The intention is to create the ideal conditions for the transfer of goods between the different forms of transport: ships, trucks and trains. The joint project involves the City of Malmö, which owns the land in Norra Hamnen, and CMP, which operates the port. The area earmarked is the result of landfill, including earth from the recent City Tunnel project in Malmö.
The project will also have a number of other positive side effects. Relocation of the container terminal to Norra Hamnen will free up 140.000 m2 in Frihamnen for use by companies that distribute new cars in the Baltic Sea Region and need loading and unloading space. The project will also make the ferry berths in Nyhamnen available for cruise ships, giving Malmö moorage capacity for four cruise ships.
CMP covers approximately 430,000 m2 in Norra Hamnen – roughly the size of 50 football pitches. The City of Malmö is also to build a ¾ million m2 area for transport and distribution companies, providing them with direct access to the various terminals. It is hoped that transport and logistics companies will set up there 2012-15.
Good for the environment
The new facility will have a number of environmental benefits. Trucks heading to and from the ferries to Germany will not have to approach the city centre, which will reduce pollution and congestion. A number of homes will also benefit from the reduction in noise from the ferries.
The new combi-terminal will move more freight to the railway, and the target is for min. 20% of the freight to and from Norra Hamnen to be transported by rail within the next few years.
Sailing times to Germany will be cut, as will the driving distances for CMP while it is processing freight. This will save on diesel and reduce pollution.
An asset for the city
“The new port facility will free up some attractive land close to the centre and to Malmö Central Station. Here it will be possible to build homes and offices and there will be room for a marina and a quay for cruise ships. The reduction in the number of trucks driving through the centre will ease congestion and improve the environment. The new facility will also generate jobs, and business in the region will benefit from a modern infrastructure, giving Malmö a competitive edge when distribution companies are setting up in Sweden,” says Ilmar Reepalu, mayor of Malmö City.
“The transport industry is suffering from an unfavourable economic climate right now, but it is only a year since our production apparatus was thought to be too small. The new facility will do away with worries like that as we will have the potential to expand our capacity significantly, which will be important when the economic tide turns again. The new port facility guarantees our future development potential for the next 40-50 years” says CMP’s Managing Director Lars Karlsson.
“We are glad to have landed the contract to expand the harbour in Malmö. Skanska has extensive experience with harbour expansions and has been in charge of a range of harbour project in the southern part of Sweden. Furthermore. this project will safeguard jobs during a difficult time”, says Kenneth Nielsson, Deputy Managing Director of Skanska.
