Expansion of Port of Aarhus Approved: A Historic Milestone

It has been five years since Port of Aarhus applied to the city council for an expansion. Along the way, Aarhus Municipality has initiated an extended involvement process and an extraordinary citizen involvement, which has qualified the decision-making basis, says port director Thomas Haber Borch, who calls the approval a historic milestone.

The final approval of the expansion of Port of Aarhus is a historic milestone. Not only for Aarhus and Port of Aarhus, but for all of Denmark. "I am pleased that a broad political majority has now primarily given Danish businesses certainty that they can continue to stay and develop on and around the port in Aarhus. This means that we can better support the green transition, create more jobs, and development for the benefit of Aarhus and Denmark," says Thomas Haber Borch, acknowledging that the application for a port expansion has sparked debate:

It has been a long process that started all the way back in 2018. Throughout, we have experienced support from the businesses and many residents of Aarhus. But there have been many opinions and emotions at play in this project. I respect the great engagement, and I also believe that the extended involvement process has contributed to a stronger and greener project with more nuances.

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An adjusted portexpansion with new and green initiatives

With the approval of the port expansion, the broad political majority has decided to reduce the total expansion to 84 hectares distributed over stages towards the 140 hectares that the previous application proposed. Additionally, a number of new initiative sand green measures for both climate and marine environment have been decided, as well as a dry port further from the quay.

"We would have liked to see the port expansion now approved more closely resembling our application. But I acknowledge the many considerations, interests, and dilemmasthat had to be weighed, and I believe that the project as a whole can support our development needs and thus secure the future of Port of Aarhus," says Thomas Haber Borch, who also highlights the many new initiatives included in the final approval:

"We are actively adapting and adjusting the project after the political decision. This includes the development of a dry port, which is a completely new area for us. Furthermore, we are working diligently on the initiatives that partly aim to reduce the overall CO2 emissions and partly to compensate for the CO2 emissionsthat the facility will ultimately emit. Now that the project has been finally approved, we can proceed with some of the regulatory approvals required before we can start the project."

Port of Aarhus expects to begin the first part of stage 1, which is the construction of the outer pier, in 2025.