The official construction start of the new container terminal

“This project is the biggest investment that has ever happened in Port of Gävle. It is a very positive development,” says Fredrik Svanbom, CEO Port of Gävle.

The new container terminal in Gävle is being built to handle 600,000 TEU and the official construction start took place 12th of December. The grand opening will take place in the summer of 2020.

“The development in Gävle is inspiring for other ports, and the doubling of the capacity is important for all of Sweden,” says Sweden’s Minister of Infrastructure, Tomas Eneroth, in connection with the official construction start.

The Minister of Infrastructure emphasized the importance of ports and shipping to reach the government’s goal of developing Sweden into the world’s first fossil-free welfare state. He is very pleased to see an increase in ocean freight to and from Sweden.

“I particularly appreciate the joint initiative of Yilport and Gävle Hamn, which establishes new conditions for more efficient and more environmentally friendly transport”.

Every year, Swedish companies export and import more than 700 million tons of goods. 15 million tons of these are produced within 150 km of Gävle. Yilport’s chairman, Robert Yuksel Yildirim, emphasized in his speech that he has great faith in Sweden and the Nordic region.

“We are game changers and we share the ambition of the Minister of Infrastructure. Yilport will support and help in every way we can so that we together can strengthen the status of ocean freight and contribute to the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions with the result of a cleaner environment. What we are building in Gävle is a mostly electrified and a highly efficient container terminal. It’s a milestone for Yilport.”

Robert Yuksel Yildirim also emphasized that shipping companies today require the handling of bigger ships, which will be possible with the new quay, larger cranes, and modern IT systems.

Katarina Norén, the General Director at The Swedish Maritime Administration, focused in her speech among other things, on the great significance of the dredging that took place in Gävle.
“This is the first time the Swedish state, and not the industry, has financed a dredging project of this sort in a Swedish port. And it has been a success! With fewer restrictions, the new dredged fairway has increased the amount of cargo and Port of Gävle has grown significantly since. The effort from Yilport and the Port of Gävle shows that an increased amount of ocean freight to and from Sweden is possible.”

Katarina Norén also talked about the importance of digitalization to further strengthen the competitiveness of sea going traffic.

“The Swedish Maritime Administration is pushing for more digital solutions to simplify communication between—and to integrate—the various modes of transportation. One example is Efficient flow. Efficient flow aims to create a joint platform for all port actors where they can share information such as time stamps for arrivals, departures and operations, resulting in better planning horizons and better understanding of joint port calls. Today Port of Gävle is among the ports that are at the forefront of the ongoing developments with digitalization, such as Efficient flow”.