When Vordingborg Municipality and the business community adopted the Business Master Plan 2030 in September 2022, the ambitions were high. The municipality was to become Eastern Denmark's powerhouse for green energy, create 1,000 new jobs, increase the proportion of growth and export companies to 20 percent, and ensure that 90 percent of 25-year-olds had a youth education.
At the status follow-up in November 2025, it appears that several of the goals are not developing as desired. The Finance Committee in Vordingborg Municipality will be informed about this at the meeting on 18 February. The master plan was approved by the municipal council on 21 September 2022 and was prepared in collaboration between Vordingborg Municipality and Vordingborg Business Association.
Mayor Michael Seiding Larsen (V) calls the business master plan a serious and comprehensive benchmark for the municipality, even though the latest status does not impress on all points.
He maintains that the municipality can still achieve the goals by 2030.
- I am very optimistic that we will achieve it, he says.
One of the areas where the status challenges the objectives is the growth and export companies. The proportion has fallen from 14.8 percent to 14.4 percent from 2022 to 2023, even though the goal is 20 percent by 2030. Also, in terms of migration, the picture has turned the wrong way. In 2024, there was a negative net migration of 62 economically active citizens from other municipalities, while the master plan's goal towards 2030 is a total net migration of 1,200 to 1,500 economically active people.
Promises 1,000 jobs
One of the goals the mayor particularly focuses on is job creation. In the plan, the goal is a net increase of 1,000 jobs by 2030, and the mayor makes it clear that this is a bottom line he himself is accountable for.
- This is what I will be measured on. I have said that 1,000 new jobs must be created, and we must deliver on that.
- That is what I will be measured on. I have said that 1,000 new jobs must be created, and we must deliver on that.
Michael Seiding Larsen
The status shows that from the end of 2022 to the end of 2023, 184 new jobs have been created. There are no figures yet for 2024. Thus, less than a fifth of the job target has been reached, even though almost half of the period leading up to 2030 has passed.
In the original master plan, a potential of up to 1,880 new jobs by 2030 was identified as a result of the green transition and the Femern connection. Of these, 1,330 jobs were expected to be filled by residents of the municipality.
Michael Seiding Larsen also points out that, in his assessment, there are things on the way that can change the numbers in the coming years, and that there are major investments in the pipeline.
- With the projects that are waiting, I have no doubt that we will achieve all the goals in the plan.
As a concrete example, he mentions Industrial Hub Zealand, the joint industrial park project with Næstved at Bårse, which crosses the municipal border. The state has allocated around 207 hectares, and the municipalities are working to attract investors to the area, which is one of the 11 areas that have been given the green light as a state industrial park. According to the mayor, a political and administrative follow-up group will be established with himself and Næstved's mayor Kenneth Sørensen (V) as well as two politicians from each of the two municipalities. The timeline points to planning work up to 2028 and expected move-ins in 2029 or 2030.
Education is lagging
Education is another key point in the plan. The goal is for at least 90% of 25-year-olds in 2030 to have completed a vocational or secondary education. The latest figures from 2024 show that the proportion in Vordingborg Municipality is 70%. This is an increase of 2 percentage points since 2022, but still 20 percentage points from the target and below the regional average of 74%.
The status also points to areas with progress. The municipality is working to position itself as a hub for green energy. Plans are in place for 20 wind turbines with a total capacity of 96.8 MW and 720 hectares of solar panels with a capacity of 720 MW. Energinet will establish a new 132 kV connection with a transformer station at Vordingborg Nord in 2028, and further electrical infrastructure is being developed towards 2033.
The project 'From authority to partner' also shows concrete results. The building case processing time has been halved from an average of 46 days to 23 days measured in June 2025. At the same time, a practice has been introduced where caseworkers call the developer at the start of a case.
Delay costs investments
According to the mayor, the delay of the Femern connection has made some actors more cautious, but he has no doubt that a fixed connection to Germany will eventually be a boost for the municipality.
- The delay of the Fehmarn connection has made some people pull back, but I am sure that a fixed link to Germany will create growth for us.
Regarding settlement, he also expects a shift. He points out that the pressure on the housing market in Copenhagen is causing more people to look beyond the capital, and he believes that Vordingborg Municipality is well-positioned to benefit from this movement.
- I am sure it will be our turn now.
