What does the business landscape look like in Vordingborg, Lolland, and Guldborgsund Municipality? This question is addressed by the mayors Mikael Smed (Vordingborg), Holger Schou Rasmussen (Lolland), and Simon Hansen (Guldborgsund) in FemernBusiness. They are facing significant changes with the construction and completion of the Fehmarn Belt connection.
Each mayor has been asked three questions about business development in their own municipality, as well as three general questions about the region's future development leading up to and following the establishment of the Fehmarn connection.
Here, the focus is on business development in Guldborgsund Municipality with Mayor Simon Hansen (S).
How does the municipality plan to attract businesses to Business Park Falster near Nørre Alslev?
- It is a task that is already well underway via Business Lolland-Falster. There is a high demand for the areas, and we have planned for further expansion of the area and also changed the local plan so that it can accommodate, for example, a data center.
According to an analysis by COWI, the area can attract up to 23,500 commuters from Northern Germany. How does the municipality plan to create the right jobs and housing opportunities to take advantage of that development?
- For us, it's about having business areas available that are interesting for companies so they can create new jobs. In our municipal plan, we have designated new areas for potential residential areas, so there are opportunities to settle down. Additionally, we support an active cultural and leisure life, which is important for many, and support that it is attractive to live in Guldborgsund Municipality.
Tourism is a significant part of the municipality's economy. What initiatives is the municipality planning to support and develop the tourism industry in light of the upcoming infrastructure improvements?
- We are still trying to realize the plans for a resort in Marielyst, which will have enormous significance for year-round tourism and create a lot of jobs. Additionally, we are working a lot on accessibility for hiking tourists, so there are both good hiking routes and accommodation facilities. Marielyst is the municipality's major attraction in the tourism area, so we are constantly working to improve - most recently with a new local plan for the central part of Marielyst.
How do you see the Fehmarn connection affecting business and trade in the area over the next ten years?
- The government will hopefully choose to create one of the five industrial parks around the factory in Rødbyhavn. It will be a decisive positive change for our area with the potential to create several thousand new jobs. It will be positive for settlement and for the municipalities' opportunities for development. If you look at it in conjunction with the interest in establishing businesses at the motorway exits, I believe we will see a business community that develops very positively over the next ten years.
Labor is a critical factor for many companies. How do you solve that challenge across municipal and national borders?
- I believe we will see a much more fluid labor market across the national border when the Fehmarn connection is completed. International labor is part of the solution, and with the permanent establishment of the factory, I believe we as a region have an advantage that is not found elsewhere in the country. We must, of course, seize that task and help companies integrate international employees well into the local communities they settle in.
Critics say that the Fehmarn Belt connection will not benefit the business community in the Fehmarn region (except for tourism). That it will just be an area you drive through to get from Copenhagen to Hamburg. Are they right?
- No, I think the interest that already exists now from the business community in establishing on Lolland-Falster as a consequence of the Fehmarn connection contradicts that argument.
