The review gives new insights on the importance of cooperation between metropolitan regions and
further strengthens the case for the development of key infrastructure investments along the corridor from Hamburg to Oslo.
Governance
In the review, the OECD has credibly demonstrated the importance of closer cooperation between our metropolitan regions in order to maintain and increase the competitiveness of our cities and regions and thereby create a fertile soil for economic growth and welfare. The OECD also recommends cross border cooperation at the national level to build infrastructure and harmonize regulations. Western Scandinavia as presented in the OECD review has shown a strong capacity to establish new positions in the fast transitioning global value chains in the last decade and has a lot of potential in areas that are important in the current STRING 2040 strategy.
– The OECD study shows the importance of closer cooperation in order to become a fully integrated megaregion. With an enlarged STRING network we have the means to fulfill some of the key recommendations that the OECD gives regarding green growth and infrastructure, says Mätta Ivarsson, Chair of the Regional Development Committee at Region Skåne.
Infrastructure
Today, shortcomings appear in certain parts of the infrastructure connecting the regions in the STRING network. When the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link is completed, the freight traffic is expected to increase even more.
In line with the OECD recommendations, the STRING network will work intensively to get the necessary investments in rail infrastructure. The poor railway network on the route Malmö-Gothenburg-Oslo is in sharp contrast to our countries’ ambitious climate targets and is preventing an additional integration of our labor markets.
– In our view, it is vital for the STRING geography that we get a well-functioning railway network along the Oslo-Gothenburg-Malmö corridor in the coming years, in order to meet the projected increase of demand on transport following the construction of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link. STRING assumes that the affected countries will work more actively in the future in order to find innovative solutions for our common infrastructure priorities, says Mätta Ivarsson, Chair of the Regional Development Committee at Region Skåne.
Cross border transport projects tend to fall outside national planning frameworks. In the review, the OECD therefore recommends the creation of cross-border transport commissions to help implement a better coordinated approach to cross-border transport planning. This is of course one of the main issues on the STRING network’s upcoming agenda.
You can find the OECD Territorial Review on the Megaregion of Western Scandinavia HERE
Find the full STRING statement HERE
