New direction: Frederikshavn wants to spin off debt-ridden port
FREDERIKSHAVN: Back in November, Frederikshavn City Council decided that nothing new should be done regarding Frederikshavn Port. But with a new city council, new plans have come into view.
Mayor Jon Andersen (V) tells Nordjyske that the city council has started work on a new ownership strategy for the port. The plan is for the port to be separated as an independent organization, either as a municipal self-governing port or in the form of a limited liability company: "Running a port is not a core function for the municipality. We need to transfer that to a structure where the port can service its own debt," says the mayor.
This was also stated back in November by party colleague Jens Borup, after the then city council had voted to continue as before with a focus on establishing a going concern for the port.
- We would have preferred to have started the work of making the port independent now and try to get it out of the municipal coffers. It's the citizens' tax money, he told DK Nyt.
Separation could happen as early as 2026
The financial challenges with the port currently amount to an annual liquidity deficit of DKK 62 million. In addition, interest amounts to DKK 38 million annually, debt repayments cost the municipal treasury DKK 79 million per year, and operating and construction expenses are DKK 45 million. Overall, it's a bad business when the port's annual income is approximately DKK 100 million.
Due to the debt in the port, Frederikshavn Municipality is high on the list of municipalities with the most long-term debt per citizen. In 2024, the debt was DKK 37,868 per citizen, while in 2023 it was 13,221 kr.
According to Jon Andersen, the ambition is that the port's corporate form can be changed from 2027, but it is also possible that it can happen already this year. The municipality is currently in the middle of negotiations with the state about an assembly yard in Frederikshavn, which will be the state assembly facility for the new Arctic ships.
The mayor's goal is to land a 50-year lease with the state for the area where the yard is to be established. Such a lease could help the port towards financial balance, and if everything goes as desired, it could mean the separation of the port as early as 2026.
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