A brand new 144,000 square meter port terminal was inaugurated at the Port of Gothenburg. The investment, amounting to approximately 60 million EUR, has been under construction for the past six years and was made to meet the increased transportation needs of Swedish industry.

“This terminal began planning as early as the 1990s and then we talked about future-proofing. Now that future is here, and this terminal is needed to meet the transportation needs of Swedish industry today, which are also expected to continue growing over time,” says Göran Eriksson, CEO of the Port of Gothenburg.

Named “Arendal 2”, the terminal is also part of the port’s strategy to concentrate its terminal operations in the outer port area, further from the city center, and with direct connections to the port’s road and rail infrastructure as well as the local growing industrial cluster.

Stena Line’s Relocation a Factor
Parts of the new spaces will be used by Stena Line when the shipping company begins relocating its local operations from its current locations in the central parts of the city to the outer port area. The project has included preparations regarding filling, channeling, and water purification for a future ferry terminal.

“It’s still a long way off, but the construction of this terminal has certainly taken Stena Line’s relocation into account. Stena Line will use parts of the new terminal area, while other adjacent terminal areas can also be made available in the relocation process,” says Göran Eriksson.

Circular Thinking
In the construction of Arendal 2, 180,000 cubic meters of contaminated materials from dredging in the Göta River have been encapsulated. These materials have been contained, stabilized, and solidified to form the foundation of the terminal area, which has then been asphalted.

“We have hit two birds with one stone here, where we have both managed to clean the river and dispose of dredging material locally without unnecessary transportation. This has been done in a safe and environmentally friendly manner under a strict control program. The goal of reusing as much material as possible has been very successful in this project.”

A More Optimized and Competitive Port
Already, large parts of Arendal 2 have begun to be used by the terminal operator Gothenburg Roro Terminal, which previously had its operations divided between two different adjacent areas. With Arendal 2, the terminal operator gets a larger contiguous terminal area with more accessible hinterland to the important berths 712 and 713.

“Overall, Arendal 2 is a solution where the involved actors get even better conditions to conduct their respective operations while the Port of Gothenburg as a whole is further optimized and becomes more competitive,” concludes Göran Eriksson.

Factfile: Arendal 2
Approximately 144,000 square meters of terminal space.
Approximately 42 kilometers of ducting, 11 pump stations and 250 wells.
Stormwater treatment plant.
9 lighting masts.
Investment: Approximately 60 million EUR.

Timeline: Arendal 2
Late 1990s: A new terminal area in the Arendal bay is included in the Port of Gothenburg’s master plan.

Autumn 2015: The Land and Environment Court grants the Port of Gothenburg permission to build a new cargo terminal adjacent to existing terminals in Arendal.

2016-2017: Pilot projects are underway to test technology for stabilizing and solidifying contaminated dredged materials.

2018: Groundbreaking for the terminal. NCC begins work on driving 1,500 piles into the seabed to lay the foundation for the construction of rock embankments around Arendal Bay.

2020: The enclosure of Arendal Bay is completed. Before the basin is filled with dredged material, about 150 enclosed eels are moved to open water outside Hönö in Gothenburg’s northern archipelago. The bay is then filled with 180,000 cubic meters of dredged material, which is stabilized and solidified. As the dredged materials fill the bay, water is displaced, treated, and monitored before being returned to the sea. The contractor for this part is Peab.

2021-2022: The design of the terminal area begins; the contractor is procured.

2023: The contractor for the construction of the terminal area begins work in March 2023. This final phase includes blasting and crushing the remaining rock. The project involves laying pipes for water and stormwater, ducting for electricity, and installing lighting masts.

Summer 2024: Arendal 2 is completed three months ahead of schedule and inaugurated on August 29.