A modern Nord-Norgebane is the single most important project for building infrastructure for the future, for defence, emergency response, goods and housing. The port directors who speak for their special interests are wrong when they say otherwise in a feature on news Ytring. It is undoubtedly true that the development of ports, the electrification of shipping and investment in sea transport are very important in the coastal nation of Norway. In particular, we are keen that emissions in the sector must be sharply reduced. Electrification and green fuel are urgent. It is nevertheless with great astonishment that we read that the port directors are going against a joint demand from the north for vigorous development of both roads, railways and ports. Those who read this must also wonder why the port directors have not followed the debate about recently presented KVUs and the process of upcoming NTP. As Labor Party politicians, we are happy that it is not harbor directors who will drive community building and community development alone in the north. It takes political will and ambition to look beyond one’s sector. This has not least been clear evidence of the professional services’ management of the impact assessments on transport needs and the Nord-Norgebanen. The Swedish Road Administration would like to build a road. Port directors would like to have more. It is perhaps not so strange to be concerned with one’s sector, but the port directors and Norske Havner conclude with a bang that they have an answer, which we all long for in the north, if only it were that simple: Others (beyond freight transport and seafood ) transport needs in the north can be solved through environmentally friendly sea transport – via battery-powered autonomous ships or hybrid solutions, they suggest. It is on par with proposals for driverless lorry trains on winter roads along seafood corridors in the north. Corridors that the professional services have been ordered to lift. And for which, despite political will, they put sticks in the wheels. The port directors’ job is to speed up a green transition in ship traffic. That job is too slow. Maybe they should use their resources there? In Northern Norway, we are asked to choose between different transport solutions. There are no other parts of the country that have to do the same. There are no other parts of the country that receive a ceiling in grants that can be spread thinly. Now, it is also not the professional services’ job to think about social development or to have ambitions. It was not the professional services that Kyllingmark listened to when he opened the short-haul network. It was not the professional services and socio-economic benefits that were thought of when the Bergen Railway was built. We politicians must see the higher sky. We don’t have to look far. We can look to northern Sweden. SEK 1,000 billion will be invested there in the next few years. NATO is being strengthened with our neighbors in the East. The Total Defense Commission and the Defense Commission point to the need for both population in the north, increased preparedness and redundancy for transport in the north. The Northern Norway line will be a societal project that builds the whole country, and it will also have very positive ripple effects for the coastal nation of Norway’s ports. ALSO READ:
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The future must not be controlled by special interests – Statement
