Posted on June 7, 2018
The Port of Gothenburg, the largest port in the Scandinavia, has received funding to deepen its fairways — allowing larger vessels to call at the port.
On June 2, 2018, Swedish Minister for Infrastructure Thomas Eneroth announced the Swedish government’s latest infrastructure plan and budget, which has allocated approximately $142 million in funding to cover one-third of the cost of the fairway deepening project at Gothenburg.
The fairways and turning area at the container terminal will have their maximum depth increased from 13.5 metres to 16 metres.
The deeper fairways will allow larger vessels to call at the port, allowing for more direct services and an increase in freight volumes between Gothenburg and the world.
Gothenburg Port Authority chief executive, Magnus Kårestedt, commented: “This decision by the government is good news indeed.
“It is confirmation that they value the significance of the Port of Gothenburg as the most important freight hub in Scandinavia, handling 30% of our foreign trade.”
The port of Gothenburg is the only port in Sweden that can receive the largest oceangoing container vessels, however the current fairway depth is limiting their freight loads — with some vessels that are unable to enter the port bypassing the country to head directly to mainland Europe.
Source: PORT Technology
