Funding
Skagerrakbanan will be a value-creating, commercially profitable project funded by ticket revenues. The cost of the completed line in 2030 is estimated at SEK 100 billion. Thanks to innovative viaduct construction technology, Skagerrakbanan can be built much more quickly and cheaply than on conventional ballasted tracks at ground level. Maintenance costs for the chosen technology are also significantly lower. Thus together with the travel forecast, overall project economy will be much better than that of other rail projects, opening the door to alternative financing options for Skagerrakbanan.
There are three different delivery models for the Skagerrakbanan:
- Government funding through the National Transport Plan (NTP) and the Swedish Transport Administration.
- Public funding (state, regional, municipal) with alternative financing.
- Private financing.
The consortium is currently working on alternatives 2 and 3 and has established contacts with the European Investment Bank, the Nordic Investment Bank and commercial banks. They are all potential lenders to the project, regardless of delivery model. Because the project is important for the development of the European transport corridors, it also enables funding through the EU’s Connecting Europe Fund (CEF), while the project’s green profile enables grant financing from environmental funds from e.g. Norway and Sweden.
Today, the project is owned by the municipalities along the route, but the intention is to broaden ownership to public and private operators in industry, infrastructure funds and pension funds. Skagerrakbanan uses an investment prospectus to attract private capital. Construction companies, railways, train operators or other infrastructure companies (e.g. in roads, ports, energy, buildings) are all potential investors. The project is also suitable for investments by sovereign wealth funds, infrastructure funds and pension funds seeking long-term, stable returns from investments in strategic assets.
The investment prospectus will be offered to potential financiers sometime in 2022.
