Expansion: Rønne Havn A/S enters into an agreement with the contractor Per Aarsleff A/S
The contract has been signed. Now the expansion of the commercial port of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea is a reality. The first spadework is estimated to take place at the end of 2017.
October 17, 2017 is a seminal day in the history of Rønne Havn A/S.
At this day, Rønne Havn A/S and the Danish contractor, Per Aarsleff A/S, agreed on the contract assignment for the first phase of the commercial port extension by 2050. An agreement that fully complies with the 'MasterPlan 2050'.
"We have been so privileged to have a highly competent field of candidates but based on the overall evaluation, we have decided to continue the collaboration with Per Aaarsleff A/S," states Thomas Bendtsen, CEO at Rønne Havn A/S.
At the construction company, they look forward to the beginning of phase 1:
"We are pleased that we were chosen for the job and look forward to addressing the task, which will undoubtedly be of great importance to the Bornholm business community," says Rene Kold Søndergaard, contract manager at Per Aaarsleff A/S.
At the management of Rønne Havn A/S there is no doubt that the execution of Phase 1 will increase the competitiveness:
"The first phase will mean that we pretty quickly can attract new business areas. It is a scenario that the whole organization has been looking forward to for a long time and it is now a reality, "says Thomas Bendtsen.
SERVICE- & INSTALLATION PORT
Specifically in the first phase Rønne Havn A/S is setting up a new 1100 meter external wave breaker, a multi-purpose terminal, which has a 300 meter length, a 40 meter wide heavy duty ro-ro rental and a 150,000 square meter large area. In addition the water depth increases to 11 meters.
"This means that, in addition to being able to accommodate the very large cruise ships - up to a length of approximately 350 meters - we also offers much greater opportunity to position Bornholm as a service- and installation base in connection with the development of the planned tasks of the wind fields in the Baltic Sea," states Thomas Bendtsen.
FUTURE PROOF
In the project process, the management and board of directors naturally have the forthcoming legislative changes for wastewater management, the strategy for Bright Green Island and various bulletins for future climate change taking into account.
"In 2019, a prohibition on the discharge of wastewater into the Baltic Sea for newly built ships will come into force and in 2021 for the existing ships. In addition, official announcements about the future climate change make great demands on the establishment of wave breakers, which can protect the harbor and the vessels from the more extreme weather conditions. This, of course, means that both wastewater management and climate change have been taken into account in the first phase of our project plan. The fact that the Waste Water Management Act fully supports our CSR policy and strong commitment to the strategy of ‘Bright Green Island™ is only pleasing, "says Thomas Thors, chairman of the board at Rønne Havn A/S, who is proud of the whole organization:
"The Board has taken an active part in planning the port expansion and since its professionalization of the Board in May 2016, the members have participated in negotiations at many different levels. I would therefore like to thank the highly competent and committed management and board of directors - as well as the skilled employees at Rønne Havn A/S for their great efforts."
MASSIVE BUSINESS-CASE
Like any other company, Rønne Havn A/S has committed itself to the private loan market in order to obtain funding for the project at the usual loan terms in the financial markets, which is the main reason for the port expansion in the four phases, which is expected to be executed in 2020, 2030, 2040 and 2050 respectively.
"It would not be possible to receive funding if we have not been able to demonstrate a solid business case that specifically demonstrates that there is a large and ever increasing market potential," concludes Thomas Bendtsen.