The 8th of April marked a significant milestone for the Port of Gothenburg as ground was broken for the Skandia Gateway project.
This project, aimed at reinforcing the quay and deepening the fairway, has been in the Swedish port’s planning stages for over a decade, enhancing its capacity to serve the country’s export and import industries.
Excavation and diving works had already commenced unofficially before the gathering of representatives from the port, shipping industry, cargo owners, and politics at Skandiahamnen—the Port of Gothenburg’s container terminal. They convened to commemorate the commencement of this long-awaited project, which holds considerable importance in its execution.
“When this project is completed by the turn of the year 2027-2028, Swedish industry will have better transport conditions and be better connected to the rest of the world. This means that Sweden’s competitiveness increases, which is the driving force at the Port of Gothenburg,” stated Göran Eriksson, CEO of the Gothenburg Port Authority during the ceremony.
As initial groundwork proceeded alongside regular terminal operations, Swedish Infrastructure and Housing Minister Andreas Carlson, among other stakeholders, underscored the significance of the Skandia Gateway project for sustaining Sweden’s economic growth and prosperity.
“This is crucial not least because Sweden is such an export-dependent industrial country. Shipping and ports have key positions to ensure that growth can continue, that more jobs can be created and that it can happen in a climate-sustainable way that enables us to reach our ambitious climate goals,” noted Eriksson.
According to the port’s statement, the Skandia Gateway Project – fairway deepening in the Port of Gothenburg will be as follows:
The planned deepening of the ship draft at the Port of Gothenburg will increase from 13.5 meters to a maximum of 17.5 meters. This enhancement aligns with the design specifications for vessels, which will have dimensions of 430 meters in length, 65 meters in width, and a draft of 17.5 meters.
The budget allocated for this project amounts to around US$270 million at 2017 cost levels, with the Gothenburg Port Authority (Gothenburg Municipality) contributing approximately US$120 million. The Connecting Europe Facilities fund has also received previous EU support for parts of the planning process.
Approximately 11 million cubic meters of dredging will be required to fulfill the project’s objectives. The timeline for this initiative is as follows: quay reinforcement will commence in February-March 2024, fairway dredging work is scheduled for the third quarter of 2026, and completion is anticipated between the fourth quarter of 2027 and the first three months of 2028.
