Sweden, Finland invest in Arctic railway
A new Swedish-Finnish report proposes 5,3 billion SEK (500 mill EUR) of investments in new railway infrastructure in the Swedish and Finnish North, meant to facilitate shipments of ore. Norwegian partners might later link up with the plans.
The Rail Administration, Road Administration and Maritime Administration in both Sweden and Finland have contributed to the report, which proposes the construction of a new railway from Kaunisvaara in Finland to Kolari in Finland. That new railway line will help facilitate the transport of ore from the mines outside Pajala in northern Sweden.
According to the plans, the ore will be brought to Kemi in Finland, from where it will be exported, Nsd.se reports. That requires the upgrade of the railway line to 25 ton capacity, Bengt Niska, head of the municipal council Pajala says to the newspaper. The project also includes the construction of 20 km of new railway line, as well as the modernization of Kemi Port. Mr. Niska believes the projected infrastructure development could bring a major boost to the region and significantly increase population.
The report concludes that the infrastructure investments will be economically viable.
The Swedish-Finnish plans might eventually include also Norwegians. As reported previously by BarentsObserver, Finnish Minister of Foreign Trade Paavo Väyrynen during a visit to Norway last year proposed the construction of a railway line between Finnish Kolari and Norwegian Skibotn.
The Finnish-Swedish report includes an assessment of the use of Narvik in Norway as sea port for the new railway. Mr. Niska says the use of Narvik will be more expensive than the use of Kalix in the Botnia Bay. However, in Narvik the whole year is ice-free, he adds.
The report recommends further assessment of the alternative port options.
