Bodenxt is the development platform that, together with national pioneers like H2 Green Steel, is shaping the future of Boden. In 2024, the pace of community development will accelerate, presenting new challenges for the green transition..
Bodenxt became the collective name for the organized development platform built alongside the municipal line organization. Transversally, Bodenxt cuts across traditional administrative and corporate boundaries with five project components: Housing & Lifestyle, Skills supply, Infrastructure (above and below ground) and Business.
Mats Berg, head of business relations in Boden, likens it to a greenhouse designed to drive forward H2 Green Steel’s megaproject within the relatively short timeframe they have announced.
– Working this way is more challenging in municipal operations, but it is the right approach for us. We formulated this plan and presented it to the Government Offices in February 2021 and have continued to work based on it since then.
That was when H2 Green Steel announced their plan to to build the world’s first large-scale green steel plant in Boden. Since then, the municipality has established a cooperation agreement with the company and worked together to make the establishment possible. Three years later, detailed plans, building permits, environmental permits, and water extraction permits are in place.
– To get such complicated and complex detailed plans approved in such a short time is incredible. I am very proud of the people who have worked on this, says Mats Berg.
Infrastructure for the Future
In addition to the important milestones, the municipality has also linked arms with companies that will build infrastructure to and from Boden Industrial Park. This includes railways, which we will tell you more about in another article, but also seven kilometers of pipelines for technical water.
– The foundations are in place for H2 Green Steel to start up its operations. But there are still challenges that need to be addressed. Especially around critical infrastructure such as the capacity of the Malmbanan railway and the expansion of the Port of Luleå.
The housing challenge
Locally, the housing issue is seen as the major challenge for 2024. He stresses the importance of building a city that attracts a broad demographic – a place where people don’t just come to work but choose to stay for the quality of life.
That’s why the municipality has chosen to prioritize developing existing residential areas and exploring sites for new housing developments.
– We need to accelerate the influx of people and work to ensure that the thousands of people coming here to work also become permanent residents. This is what we will be evaluated on and we need to start seeing effects on this in 2024.
Mats Berg sees a temporary bottleneck that needs to be addressed urgently – housing construction.
Cooperation and Faith in the Future
– Developers, property owners and the banking sector must jointly demonstrate that they also believe in the green transition and identify solutions that enable new housing construction. The state also needs to start using its tools to encourage more building during these turbulent times. It’s a bit of a proving ground there, I feel.
The goal is for Boden Municipality to have 33,000 residents by 2030. Although Mats Berg sees many challenges and obstacles along the way, he is hopeful that it will become a reality.
– We have a good collaboration with the Armed Forces and H2 Green Steel, two entities that will grow significantly in the coming years.
There is currently a lot of interest in Boden and the region from the business community. Both locally and internationally. The municipality is now exploring the possibility of developing more green industrial areas to meet this interest.
But the positive momentum is also felt within the municipality.
– The pride that was here before the late 90s is back. The whole of Boden is bubbling with confidence. This makes me confident that we will meet the challenges we face.
The article was published in DI’s supplement on Boden earlier in 2024. The full supplement can be read digitally here.
