PUBLISHED 06/26/25
Skandia Gateway is one of Sweden’s most important future-oriented maritime projects. It involves deepening the fairway to the Skandia Harbour to allow the world’s largest container ships to call at Gothenburg fully loaded. We met with Jenny Röström Wicander, project manager at the Swedish Maritime Administration, who shares insights about the technical challenges, environmental requirements, and her personal connection to the project.
The goal of Skandia Gateway is to enable the world’s largest container ships to enter Skandia Harbour at full capacity. Currently, they can only enter partially loaded due to insufficient depth. The aim is to increase the maximum draught from today’s 13.5 metres to at least 16.5 metres, or up to 17.5 metres if the budget allows. This would significantly increase cargo capacity per ship and strengthen Gothenburg’s role as one of Northern Europe’s key logistics hubs.
Gothenburg is currently the only port in Scandinavia offering direct services between Europe and the Far East. For Swedish industry, this secures a strategically vital function for continued import and export through direct maritime routes.
Jenny Röström Wicander, who leads the fairway operations, explains that the project is both technically complex and environmentally demanding. It involves dredging up to ten million cubic metres of clay while also reinforcing and deepening the quays. The majority of the dredged materials are clean and will be deposited in deep-sea basins. However, the limited portion that is contaminated must be handled at special land-based facilities.
“There are only a few receiving facilities with limited capacity. Managing all our dredged materials requires a logistical puzzle of coordinating multiple receivers and transport methods, using both barges and trucks. The logistics alone are a huge challenge,” says Jenny.
Sweden’s high environmental standards are something Jenny values, though she acknowledges they sometimes pose tough challenges. The key is finding solutions that are both sustainable and feasible.
The project is a close collaboration between the Swedish Maritime Administration, Port of Gothenburg, and the Swedish Transport Administration. The Maritime Administration is responsible for the fairway, including dredging, beacons, and navigational aids, while the Port of Gothenburg handles quay reinforcement and nearby dredging work.
Despite the scale and societal importance of the project, public awareness remains relatively low. “There are many large infrastructure projects underway in West Sweden. And even though Skandia Gateway could benefit the entire country, its construction will cause minimal disruption to the public. Furthermore, the project will be carried out without compromising accessibility or safety in the fairway,” says Jenny Röström Wicander.
Despite the scale and societal importance of the project, public awareness remains relatively low. “There are many large infrastructure projects underway in West Sweden. And even though Skandia Gateway could benefit the entire country, its construction will cause minimal disruption to the public. Furthermore, the project will be carried out without compromising accessibility or safety in the fairway,” says Jenny Röström Wicander.
Jenny holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and previously worked at the Swedish Transport Administration before joining the Swedish Maritime Administration in 2021.
“Working with maritime projects is quite different. It's a much more international market, where dredging contractors operate their fleets globally. Environmental permitting and working exclusively in water also present unique demands. But the fundamentals of project management remain, delivering quality on time and within budget.”
The project’s location in the Gothenburg archipelago makes it particularly meaningful to her:
“I’ve always lived in this area. Being able to contribute to something so significant here at home, where the sea meets societal development, means a lot.”
Contract procurement is ongoing throughout 2025, and construction is scheduled to begin in August 2026. The project is expected to be completed by February 2028.
On a personal note, Jenny is soon heading out on parental leave as she awaits her third child. She plans to return to the project in March 2026.
“This project strengthens not only Gothenburg’s, but also Sweden’s competitiveness and climate-smart freight transport. It’s incredibly meaningful to be part of that journey,” Jenny concludes.