Ávarp á markaðsdegi nýs innviðafélags Ganga og brúar

Ávarp flutt á markaðsdegi nýs innviðafélags Ganga og brúar í Hörpu 17. september. Það var flutt á ensku þar sem fjöldi erlendra fjárfesta var viðstaddur.

Komið þið sæl og velkomin. Það er virkilega ánægjulegt að sjá hversu mörg ykkar eru mætt hingað í dag.

Við stöndum á mikilvægum tímamótum í uppbyggingu innviða á Íslandi og það er ljóst að þessi vettvangur hefur vakið mikinn áhuga.

Þar sem við erum með erlenda gesti með okkur hér í dag, mun ég flytja ávarp mitt á ensku.

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Dear guests, investors, and industry partners — welcome.

Thank you for your interest in Göng og brú.

I am incredibly proud of the groundwork we have laid over the past year, and it is a pleasure to share this milestone with so many of you today.

For historical context, a strong transport system has been essential to Iceland's independence from the very beginning. This dates back 1,200 years, when the country was settled by the greatest seafaring people of the age.

400 years later, we lost our independence when we no longer had ships capable of sailing to other countries.

In our isolation, we became one of the poorest and least developed nations in Europe.

At the dawn of the 20th century, however, things changed.

And within a single century, Iceland went from being one of Europe's most remote societies to one of the most prosperous nations in the world – with living standards, life expectancy and levels of education that rank among the highest anywhere.

This progress has gone hand in hand with the development of Iceland's transport infrastructure.

When it comes to domestic transport, the road network is our lifeline. Iceland did not take part in the Industrial Revolution, and no railway network was ever built here.

Over the past twenty years, Iceland’s economic growth has been driven by sectors that depend heavily on the road network, not least due to the rapid rise of tourism.

In the past fifteen years, traffic on the national road system has almost doubled. In some places, the increase has been even greater, particularly near popular natural attractions.

Rapid growth in industries such as aquaculture has also led to a substantial increase in freight transport on our roads.

This is, in many ways, the challenge of success.

The need for investment in both new infrastructure and maintenance has increased year after year, and the demand for better connections now clearly exceeds what traditional budget financing alone can deliver in a timely manner.

As a result, our attention has focused on diversifying the ways in which transport infrastructure is financed.

in 1998 the Hvalfjörður Tunnel opened to traffic. The project marked a turning point in Iceland, as it was financed with private-sector participation and the investment was repaid through toll revenues over the following twenty years.

The public welcomed the greatly improved connection, and traffic through the tunnel immediately exceeded all earlier forecasts.

The Hvalfjörður Tunnel project and its business model was a resounding success.

More than twenty years passed before the next comparable project, the Vaðlaheiði Tunnel, opened in northern Iceland. Throughout that period, there was considerable political interest in pursuing further projects, but little happened.

Today, that is changing.

I am very impressed to see such a large gathering here today for the market engagement event hosted by Göng og Brú.

This Government – from the start of its tenure - made a firm commitment to launch major infrastructure projects of strategic importance to Iceland’s economy and society.
With the establishment of Göng og Brú, I believe we are now taking the first steps to turn this commitment into reality.

Dear guests,

The Icelandic national road network has until now almost exclusively been constructed and run by the Icelandic Road Administration (Vegagerðin), whose knowledge of local conditions is second to none.

The agency will continue to play a crucial part of Iceland’s transport system and will remain responsible for the nationwide road network.

Göng og Brú will work alongside it, with a distinct and clearly defined role: to bring together public objectives and private-sector capabilities. It will focus specifically on large-scale projects that are suited for alternative financing and dedicated project delivery.

Ultimately, this is about increasing our capacity to build essential infrastructure and delivering projects sooner than would otherwise be possible.

A clear allocation of responsibilities will therefore be essential. Projects must be chosen based on public need and sound socio-economic assessment.

For example, as one of the first projects to be undertaken by the company, Sundabraut is undoubtedly the most socio-economically beneficial project in Icelandic history. It will revolutionize transportation and reduce driving in the capital area by 150,000 km per day.

Dear guests.

We are united in our ambitions to enhance investment in the Icelandic transport network to enhance safe and reliable mobility and unlock the great potential of the Icelandic economy and society.

Let's make it happen. Thank you.