Printer-friendly version
 go
|
|
March 27, 2008
Mayor of Akureyri wants a smelter in Bakki
Sigrún Björk Jakobsdóttir, Mayor of Akureyri, lists the benefits of building a smelter in Bakki, North Iceland, in an article published in Morgunbladid national newspaper on 20 March 2008.
Noting that no single solution, of these available at the moment, is better suited to guarantee a flourishing long-time settlement in the area than a smelter in Bakki, Sigrún says she can not see any impediments for starting construction soonest possible.
Sigrún points out that nowhere in Iceland is the need greater for a solid economical foundation, as in Northeast-Iceland, where, during the past ten years, there has been a 40% decrease in the 35-45 age group. In many known cases, there are young, educated people who have not been able to get suitable jobs in their own community and therefore have been forced to move away to a place where they can get work.
“As experience has shown,” Sigrún writes, “a smelter is accompanied by specialized high-tech companies, computer services and a number of service jobs that come with an increased number of residents, in areas such as communications, health services and education in all stages of the system. The community is well equipped to receive more people, as the utilization of playschools, elementary schools, health services and hospitals in North-East-Iceland could be much better than it is at the present, partly because of the massive emigration we have experienced in the last few years.”
A smelter in Bakki will, according to the Mayor, lead to a considerable increase in the quality of life in North Iceland. She states that it would “turn Northeast-Iceland into one, powerful area, which integrates heavy industry in Bakki, whale-watching in Húsavík, tourist services in connection with many of the natural wonders of the area, and robust agriculture. New opportunities created by the smelter, better communications and more residents underpin future growth in North Iceland, for the benefit of the whole nation.”
Sigrún concludes that it is “crucial that Alcoa’s administration and the government of Iceland take the next step towards making sure that the smelter project can be started as soon as possible.”
|
|
|
