politics
Norway’s High North Strategy:
Preparedness in Nordland is Being Deprioritised, Says Chair of the County Government
The Norwegian government has not allocated funds in next year's national budget to strengthen the hospital in Narvik, Northern Norway, which is tasked with supporting military preparedness needs. "Quite incomprehensible," says chair of the county government in Nordland.
Published
Modified
The Norwegian government recently presented its proposal for the national budget for 2027. This has significant shortcomings when it comes to preparedness in Nordland, Northern Norway, believes Marianne Dobak Kvensjø (Conservative Party), Chair of the County Government.
"Civil society must also be significantly strengthened in order to follow up the long-term plan for the defence sector. Much is now being invested in the Armed Forces in the north, but we do not see investment in health preparedness or infrastructure for military mobility in Nordland," Kvensjø tells High North News.
More specifically, she reacts to the government allocating funds for the construction of shelters at two hospitals in Eastern Norway, but not at the University Hospital of North Norway in Narvik – which has been given a role in supporting the Armed Forces' preparedness needs.
"It is quite incomprehensible that no earmarked funds are being allocated to equip the hospital in Narvik as a wartime hospital," Kvensjø maintains.
The chair of the county government also calls for more funding for emergency services in Narvik in light of the Armed Forces' needs.
"A hospital that is unable to handle the reception of large groups of soldiers is not a good NATO ally," she says.
Roads and railway
Furthermore, Kvensjø points to the need for upgrading roads in the county as well as the Ofoten Line, which runs from the Port of Narvik to Bjørnfjell at the national border and continues on the Swedish side as the Iron Ore Line to Kiruna and Luleå.
This railway is important for the transport of military personnel and materiel between Norway, Sweden and Finland.
"Nordland has a great deal of critical infrastructure in the form of county roads, railways and ports, but fares worst of all the counties when it comes to [investments in, ed. note] transport. With the proposed national budget, we are not equipped to fulfil our responsibilities – including those related to total defence," she says, continuing:
"I am very disappointed by the lack of investment in infrastructure in the county, and am thinking in particular of phase two of the upgrade of the Sørfold tunnels on the European route E6, the construction of a double track on the Ofoten Line, and measures on the E10 in Lofoten."
"Furthermore, we welcome the government's plan to build a new launch pad at Andøya Spaceport at a total cost of nearly NOK 650 million, but at the same time this shifts costs onto Nordland County Council. We are responsible for the roads around the spaceport and receive no additional funding to upgrade them."
"Nordland often falls outside"
The county council leader also believes it is incomprehensible that Nordland remains outside the national preparedness action zone in the north, which currently only include the counties of Troms and Finnmark.
“We are seeing a strong focus on the High North, but Nordland often falls outside the government’s overall High North initiative,” says Kvensjø, stressing that Northern Norway should be regarded as a cohesive region in the context of preparedness.
“The fact that Nordland is not included in the preparedness action zone means that we do not gain access to the earmarked funding and coordination that come with it,” she points out, continuing:
“The government says that ‘Nordland has not been forgotten’, but without a formal connection to the action zone and the Arctic Resilience Centre in Kirkenes, we risk Nordland falling between two stools in the practical preparedness work.”
