Skandia Gateway facts

Some 70 per cent of Swedish exports take place by sea, and the Port of Gothenburg is the only port in Scandinavia that can offer direct services to other parts of the world using the largest deep-sea cargo vessels. To assure access to the world for Swedish industry in the future, the fairway needs to be deepened by four metres, and the harbour basin and quays need to be deepened and reinforced.

Below are just some of the benefits to be gained from deepening the fairway:

• Direct shipping offers Swedish industry access to a rapid, dependable means of transportation that is both cost-effective and sustainable.
• By deepening and broadening the fairways we can assure Swedish industry and Sweden as a nation that direct shipping will continue.
• Direct calls mean the largest cargo vessels can enter the port fully loaded. Not only is this more sustainable, it also ensures the future development of the merchant fleet.
• Half of Sweden’s container trade passes through the Port of Gothenburg.
• Cargo worth billions of kronor is handled at the port every year. The Port of Gothenburg is the primary transit point for 30 per cent of Swedish exports.

Larger vessels require deeper harbours

The global merchant fleet has grown at a rate no one could have anticipated when the fairway was last deepened. In just 15 years, the capacity of container vessels has increased by 50 per cent and even larger vessels are already on the drawing board. Deep-sea vessels capable of carrying over 20,000 containers call at the Port of Gothenburg on a regular basis but are currently unable to do so fully loaded due to the present depth of the fairway. The focal points in the Skandia Gateway investment are deepening of the harbour basin and reinforcement of the quays to ensure several deep-sea vessels can be handled at the same time.

The Swedish Maritime Administration and the Gothenburg Port Authority have produced a joint consultation document which outlines the planned inquiries and measures and the predicted environmental impact. The consultation document for the Skandia Gateway project is still available on the Swedish Maritime Administration website: To Consultation Document.

The purpose of consultation was to present and act on views and comments regarding the planned measures at an early stage in the process and, based on the outcome, define the scope and level of detail in the environmental impact assessment. Views and comments could be submitted up to 28 February 2020.

On Dec. 22, 2020, the permit application, including an environmental impact statement, was submitted for review by the Land and Environment Court.

On June 1-3, the main negotiations were held in Gothenburg.

On September 29, Skandia Gateway received an environmental permit. The Port of Gothenburg's part includes quay reinforcement and the Swedish Maritime Administration's part dredging and moving dredged masses.

Physical extent of the project

The first phase, the Western Quay, involves excavation of 15,000 square metres of earth and rock at the terminal, sinking 1 500 piles, and creating a 500-metre extension of the crane beam for the largest container cranes. This will be followed by backfilling and the creation of new land area at the terminal. Existing sheet piling at the quayside will be replaced with new, more powerful piling, an area of 50 metres from the quayside will be dredged, and the harbour basin will be protected against erosion.

Project status

On 22 December 2020, a permit, including an environmental impact assessment, was submitted to the Land and Environment Court for examination. The main hearing was held June 1-3. On September 29, 2022, the Skandia Gateway project received an environmental ruling from the Land and Environmental Court, and if this is not appealed, work can begin on quay reinforcement as well as dredging and moving clean masses to the intended location in the sea during the end of 2022.

Regarding the financial planning, in September 2020 the project received the go-ahead for financing. This after the municipal board and the municipal council in Gothenburg approved the conditions according to the previously drawn up declaration of intent between the Swedish Transport Administration, the Maritime Administration and the Port of Gothenburg AB

Procurement

Procurement of a design-build contractor for the fairway deepening project Skandia Gateway – quay reinforcement, a design-build contract in partnership, has now been concluded. An agreement has been signed with NCC Sverige AB. Local planning has commenced.

At the Swedish Maritime Administration, the procurement process for dredging will commence in winter 2022 at the earliest.