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Runavík Readies Colossal Connection |
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Archives -
2007 Archive
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Written by B. Tyril
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Tuesday, 22 May 2007 |
With an excellent natural harbor in the longest fjord of the Faroe Islands, the busy Port of Runavík receives vessels of virtually any type and size — yet a mammoth development is set to make the port an ever more powerful magnet for new business.
Comprising 13 villages, the bulk of them situated along the shores of the Skálafjörđur fjord, the municipality of Runavík has seen some major developments in recent years. In the cards now, however, is a project that will dwarf all infrastructure investments made up until now in the Faroe Islands: a fixed link between the two arms of the fjord and the capital Tórshavn in the form of a stupendous underwater tunnel system.
Boasting one of the best natural harbors in the Faroes — in the country’s longest fjord — the Port of Runavík has long enjoyed its status as an unbeatable shelter for ships up to the size of giant cruise liners. A total quay length of 1700m, depth alongside up to 12m, means vessels of almost any kind can call at the port.
“Aside from offering some excellent services, our port is very safe and well protected from the elements,” said harbormaster Jón Rosenblad.
Some 1500 ships per year call at Runavík. Mr Rosenblad said this figure is rising slowly but is expected to rise more sharply in the not too distant future.
He referred to a massive 1 billion dkk (134m eur / 91m gbp) development project recently approved by the Lögting (Faroese Parliament) — the construction of a privately funded underwater tunnel to connect the Skálafjörđur area on the island of Eysturoy to Tórshavn on the neighboring island of Streymoy.
Still a long way to go, a number of issues are yet to be sorted out — such as, on which arm of the fjord the tunnel’s mouth is going to be or whether, as is being considered, there should be an underwater roundabout somewhere midway with connecting points to both sides.
“The underwater tunnel is obviously going to have a huge impact here,” Mr Rosenblad said. “The municipality is looking to find cost effective ways in which to develop our harbor infrastructure to meet increasing demand for our services.”
Quite likely, the Port of Runavík will be at the heart of things as integration between Tórshavn, parts of Eysturoy, and the town of Klaksvík to the northeast is taken to a new level.
“Whether the main traffic to and from the tunnel on our side will be going through the eastern or western arm of the Skálafjörđur, our area will be taking center stage,” Mr Rosenblad argued.
Not long ago, the international oil and gas companies engaged in exploration activities offshore the Faroes chose Runavík as their Faroese supply base; a new terminal was built for the purpose. Since then another deepwater quay has been developed to take care of large passenger ships.
For decades the main harbor in the Runavík-Saltangará area — used chiefly by the fishing industry and by transport and logistics services — has been well geared to have all types of vessels docked, from inshore fishing boast to large trawlers and freighters. Some of the quaysides have recently been refurbished and made wider while improvements have generally been made over the years.
With a thriving seafood industry in and around the central harbor area plus scores of business and consumer services, the port handles a throughput of more than 110,000 metric tons of goods per year.
In addition to bunkering, fresh water and electricity, a wide range of services are offered.
With 36,000m2 of open storage areas available on the harbors, important services on offer include warehousing, stevedoring, road transport, ship repairs, electronics servicing, customs clearance, provisioning and various other services ranging from finance and banking to insurance, legal advice and health care.
All this, in addition to the shipyard at Skála with a 116m dry dock and a 1200-mt capacity slipway, makes the Port of Runavík highly versatile.
“The fjord allows for great opportunities with regard to further development,” Mr Rosenblad added. “For instance, at Glyvrar the depth is 15m very close to the shoreline.”
Meanwhile, leisure and entertainment is growing as increasing numbers of domestic and international tourists are lured to Runavík during the summer period.
Among the main attractions: a major international sea angling contest, launched last year to be held on a biannual basis. Said Runavík’s tourist information manager Rannvá Troest: “The fishing contest was a resounding success with a couple of hundred anglers taking part; well, we expect an even higher number of participants next year than we had in 2006.”
Link to pdf presentation...
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