Danish Ports Association calls for greater focus on blue highways from the government

The smoke has cleared after the presentation of the government's and DF's major infrastructure plan last week, and after having studied the agreement in detail, the trade organization Danish Ports also offers constructive criticism of the agreement. The direction is the right one, but it could have been better, says director Tine Kirk Pedersen:

"First and foremost, we would like to acknowledge that the government and DF prioritize investing in infrastructure. This is necessary if we are to have an even better cohesive Denmark. However, we at Danish Ports would have liked the plan to be more of a master plan with a stronger focus on the climate and the green transition."

Waterways are the most climate-friendly transport
The infrastructure plan presented by the government and the Danish People's Party (DF) is primarily about investments in roads and to a slightly lesser extent public transport, and ports are not mentioned in the plan.

"Transport by ship - and it doesn't matter whether we're talking about freight or passengers - is typically the most climate-friendly mode of transport we have. So if the infrastructure plan had given greater consideration to transport to and from Danish ports, it would have benefited the green transition and reduced road congestion at the same time," explains Tine Kirk Pedersen, CEO of Danish Ports.

Calls for more focus on the blue highways
The industry organization believes that the parties behind the infrastructure plan fail to consider the ports as infrastructure, so that better rail connections to the ports and better conditions for rail transport can move more goods to the rails:

"The vast majority of the many billions that the government and the Danish People's Party want to invest in infrastructure will go to the black highways we drive on today. That may be fine, but unfortunately they have forgotten the blue highways, which are the waterways, and which are good for the environment, climate and congestion," concludes Tine Kirk Pedersen.

The trade organization Danske Havne also stresses that it hopes that the infrastructure plan can be reviewed and moderated after an election, so that ports and waterways can perhaps be taken into account to a slightly greater extent.

For further information, please contact Tine Kirk Pedersen, Director of Danish Ports, on +45 20 20 86 15.