02.09.2003
Danish minister Bendt Bendtsen supports Airport Business Park plans

The Danish Minister for Economic and Business Affairs sees growth opportunities and great potential in plans for a future transport power centre at Copenhagen Airport

“No welfare without growth.” The message was clear in Mr. Bendtsen’s keynote address at a major business conference at the Hilton Copenhagen Airport last Monday.

The theme of the conference arranged by Copenhagen Airports was the development of an Airport Business Park, a transport power centre in the heart of the Øresund region. Seventy-five invited delegates from Danish and international companies as well as decision makers in the transport sector were gathered to hear the opinion on the project of the various speakers, including Bendtsen.

“We want to have a society that compares favourably with the best in the world. This requires a strong business sector and good growth conditions, enabling us to hold our own in international competition,” said Bendtsen, who emphasised that growth, welfare and renewal are three keywords of the government platform.

“The Øresund region represents growth potential. We are at the gateway to the Baltic states, the new member states of the EU. The entire Baltic Sea region holds huge potential for the future,” the minister said, expressing his vision for a transformation into a growth region.

Opportunities to exploit the potential

Bendtsen pointed out that the potential of the Øresund region is currently not being fully exploited.

"Together with the Greater Copenhagen Authority (HUR), we have analysed the Øresund region, and our findings indicate that we are not doing well enough in comparison with areas such as Stockholm and Amsterdam,” said Bendtsen, adding that we are lagging behind in such central areas as innovation, entrepreneurship and human resources.

“It’s important to provide growth conditions and a framework that facilitates the growth of businesses. It’s then up to trade and industry to decide how this should be realised,” said Bendtsen, who takes a favourable view of the visions for a new transport power centre.

“The government supports the entrepreneurship inherent in the project. It will produce growth in our region, which will lead to greater welfare and more jobs,” the minister said in his closing comments. In addition to Bendtsen, conference speakers included Johan Paludan, president & CEO of the Copenhagen Transport and Logistics Association and O. Rolf Larsen, CEO of Copenhagen Capacity.

The conference at the Hilton was the first major step from vision into reality for the 420,000 square metre area to be turned into the new Airport Business Park. The land, literally created from the sand dredged up when the Øresund Link tunnel was built, is owned by Copenhagen Airports. The new area offers the potential of easy access to infrastructure consisting of the airport, railway and motorway networks and sea transport, which makes its location unique. This prime location is expected to generate a great deal of interest from trade and industry. Monday’s conference really kicked off the ambitious project, which will undoubtedly strengthen the position of Copenhagen in the Øresund region.