When the Fehmarn link is eventually completed, creating a new direct corridor between Denmark and Germany, there is no guarantee that Lolland-Falster will be among the biggest economic winners.
Although the fixed link has the potential to generate significant growth, it remains an open question which side of the connection will ultimately reap the greatest benefits.
Fehmarn could certainly open up new markets for companies on the Danish side, but according to Jesper Beinov, Director at SMVdanmark, this will require local businesses to be in a position to seize the opportunities.
- Fehmarn should not only make the journey between Copenhagen and Hamburg faster. The link should also create jobs, investment and revenue in Lolland-Falster and the rest of Denmark – not least for local SMEs, he says.
A large number of Danish companies have already secured work during the construction phase. By June 2025, 1,118 Danish and international subcontractors had contributed to the project since 2020, including 710 Danish companies, according to figures from femern.com.
But securing long-term benefits once the link itself is completed presents a different challenge.
- We must not assume that growth will come by itself. If companies lack labour, capital and favourable business conditions, there is a risk that the traffic will simply pass through while the economic benefits end up elsewhere, says Jesper Beinov.
He points to tourism, food production, construction, transport and logistics as sectors where the link could give companies in Lolland-Falster easier access to customers and business partners. But this will also require municipalities on both sides of the Fehmarn Belt to work together, he says.
- Cooperation across municipal boundaries is extremely important, both between Guldborgsund, Lolland and Vordingborg and with municipalities in northern Germany. At the same time, local SMEs must also have the opportunity to grow during the construction phase, so their continued involvement is essential.
According to Jesper Beinov, the alternative is that a historic investment fails to leave the lasting mark on the local area that it could.
- If we do not create the right conditions for local businesses, Lolland-Falster will get more traffic but too little lasting growth. That would be an enormous missed opportunity, both for the area and for the rest of Denmark.
