The Swedish Maritime Administration and the Port of Gothenburg are canceling the joint procurement process for dredging works within the Skandia Gateway project.
The reason is that the bids received exceed the budgeted costs for the state-funded portion of the project.
Joel Smith, Director of Infrastructure at the Swedish Maritime Administration, said that they have decided to cancel the procurement within the Skandia Gateway Project, as the bids received are significantly higher than the available budget, adding that, Skandia Gateway is an important and necessary investment to secure competitive transport solutions for Swedish industry, and they look forward to implementing the project.
An analysis of the procurement results is currently being conducted to ensure that potential cost reductions can be achieved without compromising the established performance objectives.
Additionally, the Swedish Maritime Administration and the Port of Gothenburg will divide the contract into two parts to be procured separately.
The Port of Gothenburg will begin procurement for the dredging work closest to the quay (approximately 5% of the total dredging volume), which is planned to be carried out between August 2026 and May 2027.
Thereafter, the Swedish Maritime Administration will carry out the remaining dredging works, with the ambition to start in 2027.
Jan Andersson, Project Manager at the Port of Gothenburg, said that they are now planning a separate procurement to be published in November, ensuring that the work can continue according to plan.
Skandia Gateway ensures direct maritime connections to Sweden and secures the business community’s access to global markets.
The Port of Gothenburg is the only port in Sweden capable of accommodating the world’s largest vessels.
However, ships continue growing in size, and already today, the fairway depth prevents the largest vessels from calling at Gothenburg fully loaded.
