SEK 497 billion to strengthen infrastructure throughout Sweden

The Swedish Government has approved the intermodal national plan for the period 2010-2021 and set final financial allocations for intermodal county plans

Efficient communications are necessary for creating the conditions for economic growth and entrepreneurship throughout the country. They are also essential for people to be able to get to and from work, and for the normal routines of everyday life,” says Minister for Communications Åsa Torstensson.

The initiative as a whole
The initiative consists of SEK 417 billion in central government funding, and SEK 65 billion will be financed through congestion taxes, road tolls, EU funding and municipal contributions. According to the Swedish National Rail Administration, future revenue from rail charges may provide an additional contribution of some SEK 15 billion. This means that infrastructure measures costing at most SEK 497 billion (€43 billion) could be implemented in 2010-2021.

SEK 217 billion from the central government allocation will go to investments, of which SEK 33 billion will go to counties and SEK 184 billion to investments in the national plan. SEK 200 billion will go to operation and maintenance measures, of which SEK 136 billion will go to roads and SEK 64 billion to railways.

Initiatives in metropolitan areas
The Alliance Government’s decision makes a number of important investments in Sweden’s metropolitan regions possible. For example, the Stockholm Agreement will be realised and will include infrastructure initiatives amounting to a total of some SEK 100 billion. Co-financing and the central government county allocations will provide about half of the resources. The most extensive initiatives in Stockholm are the Stockholm bypass (Förbifart Stockholm), the City Line (Citybanan), the Mälaren Line (Mälarbanan) and the E20 European Highway (Norra länken).
    
In Gothenburg, the Västsvenska paketet (West Swedish Package) was introduced as a result of the Government’s decision. The initiative has a budget of some SEK 61 billion. This means the realisation of such projects as the West Link (Västlänken), the Marieholm Tunnel and development of public transport within the framework of the K2020 project. In Gothenburg, co-financing will amount to some SEK 17 billion of the investment costs.
    
In Skåne, infrastructure initiatives during the electoral period have primarily been aimed at improving and strengthening the Öresund region’s central role as an engine for economic growth for southern Sweden. Citytunneln (city tunnel), which will be finished this autumn, is a project that has been successful for several reasons. Construction has progressed quickly and has kept to the set financial framework. Citytunneln and the ongoing renovation of Malmö Central Station will further improve accessibility for passengers and facilitate the flow of goods over the Öresund Bridge. Initiatives in Skåne amount to a total of SEK 19.3 billion.
    
Within the framework of other measures, the Swedish Transport Administration, together with regional representatives and other stakeholders, will prioritise financing and completing the Railway Inquiry on the south-east link as part of planning for and developing intermodal transport solutions between the railway system and shipping.

Transport for the future
The Infrastructure Bill, Travel and transport in the future, provides the foundation and has been the policy document for action planning. The Government presented the Bill to the Riksdag in September 2008 and, following the adoption of the Bill by the Riksdag in December 2008, the Government decided to instruct traffic agencies and counties to carry out action planning.

The Swedish Road Administration, the Swedish National Rail Administration, the Swedish Maritime Administration and the Swedish Civil Aviation Authority were instructed to draw up a joint proposal for a national intermodal plan for the development of transport systems for the period 2010-2021. At the same time, counties were instructed to draw up intermodal county plans for regional transport infrastructure for the period 2010-2021.
    
The traffic agencies’ proposal for a national plan was presented to the Government in September 2009 and then referred for comment. The Government received the comments and the counties’ proposals referred for comment in November 2009. Alongside the planning process, intensive work was carried out on reviewing the potential for co-financing, which resulted in a considerable supplement to the central government financing framework of SEK 417 billion, thus making the implementation of a number of important measures possible.