Record results from the Port of Aabenraa

The Port of Aabenraa breaks all records in its recently published annual accounts and paves the way for Aabenraa as a beacon in Denmark's green transition.

2021 has been another record year for the Port of Aabenraa. Turnover has increased 27% from DKK 31,507,453 in 2020 to a record-high DKK 40,066,161 in 2021. The number of ships calling at the port annually and the volume of goods handled has also increased significantly. Almost 400 ships have thus called at the port, which in 2021 has handled 1,912,374 tons of goods over the quay. This corresponds to 3.6 tons of cargo per minute every day of the year. 

The good result is mainly due to an increase in so-called bulk cargo, which is solid or liquid goods transported unpacked, such as grain, aggregates, cement and biomass. 

- The Port of Aabenraa is the only commercial port in Southern Jutland, and both South Jutland and North German industry and agriculture are dependent on transportation via the port and the sea route. More than 2,000 jobs are dependent on the goods that we get across the quay, and this is what can be seen in the annual result, says Henrik Thykjær, who is the director of the Port of Aabenraa. 

In particular, raw materials for the building and construction industry have had a positive impact on the port's results, just as Denmark's green transition is making its mark on the accounts. The volume of raw materials, materials and components for Denmark's new green infrastructure based on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar cell parks has also increased significantly.

Of national interest

Although Aabenraa is only Denmark's 57th largest city, its port is Denmark's 8th largest freight port, and interest in the Port of Aabenraa is steadily increasing. 

- Many of the port's companies are companies of so-called national interest. This means that the raw materials they transport via the port are crucial to the Danish production apparatus and the country's cohesion. As other towns in the region have either dismantled or are planning to dismantle their commercial ports in favour of port-related housing construction, we can clearly see how important the Port of Aabenraa is for Danish infrastructure and the attention it attracts from e.g. authorities, interest organizations and the business community, says Henrik Thykjær.

Traditional port operations and green transition go hand in hand 

The port's record turnover is solely driven by the traditional port operations at the Port of Aabenraa. The new areas at the Port of Ensted, which the Port of Aabenraa was finally able to take over in 2021, are an investment in the future and in new types of port activities. 

- As a port, the Port of Ensted is very different from the Port of Aabenraa. For example, Ensted has far fewer quayside areas than the Port of Aabenraa, and when we talk about goods and bulk, quayside areas are crucial. Therefore, Ensted is not suitable for what is today the Port of Aabenraa's core business and basis for existence. On the other hand, the areas at Ensted are perfect for completely new business areas such as power-to-x and recycling. So Ensted is an investment in new business areas that can supplement the continued traditional port operations, explains Henrik Thykjær.

Both the port's current activities and the new business areas of the future have the green transition as a common focal point.

- The sea route is by far the most environmentally friendly mode of transport, and this is of great importance for both companies and South Jutland's carbon footprint. If we did not have the port of Aabenraa, the same amount of goods would instead have to be transported by more than 55,000 trucks. At the same time, the transportation of e.g. wind turbine components and biomass via the port is a prerequisite for the continued expansion of the green infrastructure. Meanwhile, the future companies at Ensted are focusing on developing the new green energy and fuel forms of the future. So the Port of Aabenraa and the Port of Ensted complement each other very well, and the development of both ports goes hand in hand, says Henrik Thykjær.

Aabenraa's lighthouse

The Port of Aabenraa is predicted by the authorities, the business community and industry associations to play a key role in the green transition and can in future put Aabenraa on the map as a leading green supply and development hub.

- This development has meant that we in Aabenraa have been dealt incredibly strong cards: Our port is the only remaining commercial port in the region and has direct access to the blue highway. Ensted also has an ideal setting for power-to-x, among other things, and both ports are strategically perfectly located in relation to logistics and supply. There is thus great potential in exploiting the many interfaces and to an even greater extent thinking the ports together with Padborg Transport Center, which is Northern Europe's largest transport center. So now it will be exciting to see how Aabenraa Municipality chooses to play its cards in the new ownership strategy for the port, which is currently being prepared, says Erwin Andresen, Chairman of the Board of the Port of Aabenraa.

The Port of Aabenraa is 100% owned by the Municipality of Aabenraa, and it is therefore the municipality alone that sets the framework for the strategic direction for the port's development. A first draft of the new ownership strategy is expected in the coming months. 

- We hope, of course, that the municipality and the city council once and for all make a strategic decision that the port should be Aabenraa's green lighthouse and thus utilize all the opportunities it really offers for attracting companies, jobs, education and residents. At the port, we are certainly ready to become part of a municipal lighthouse and, with record accounts and solid future prospects, we are stronger than ever before," concludes Erwin Andresen.