The Swedish Transport Administration's proposal is welcomed - but an unanswered question is worrying
Getting infrastructure in place to support the green industrial transition in northern Sweden is time-critical. The Swedish Transport Administration confirms this in the investigation the government has commissioned. The report proposes that the state should take out loans to get the infrastructure in place more quickly. But there is an unanswered question that worries regional councilor Anders Öberg (S).
It concerns five major infrastructure projects in Norrbotten and Västerbotten: Malmbanan, Norrbotniabanan, double track Boden-Luleå, E4 through Skellefteå and Malmporten. Today, there are shortcomings and bottlenecks that must be removed, and as quickly as possible.
The government's assignment included identifying what was needed to speed up the work.
The Swedish Transport Administration estimates that all projects except the Malmporten port project can be expedited, but that in that case new ways of financing the projects are required. The best way is through loans, the authority believes. For the double track Boden-Luleå, track charges may also be an issue.
Loan financing is a solution that representatives of Region Norrbotten and Region Västerbotten have put forward several times.
– Now we hope that the government will accept the proposal and implement it, says Anders Öberg, regional councilor (S).
There is still no timetable.
However, an investment like the one proposed by the Swedish Transport Administration could mean that other infrastructure projects in southern Sweden will have to take a back seat. This is a trade-off that is now on the government's table.
– What worries us is that there is still no target year for when the Norrbothnia Line will be completed. The lack of information about when it will be completed affects the municipalities' ability to plan, investments have to wait and the trains cannot be ordered. We have been waiting for years, this is an infrastructure project that should have been completed by now. Now we need to be told when we will actually get the infrastructure we need, says Anders Öberg.
