Urban transformation gains ground in Malmberget and Gällivare
LKAB is now presenting several details with regard to the urban transformation in Malmberget. The new plans coincide with the stepwise planning that was decided jointly with the Municipality of Gällivare as early as 2012. Due to the ground deformations caused by mining, much of Malmberget will be relocated by 2019.
“This is a way for us to give clear notification. Previously, we have worked according to scheduled stages with long intervals. Now, we are scheduling in greater detail to allow Malmberget residents to know, ahead of time and in more detail, what is going to happen. We have to do this to address the immediate situation and to reassure local residents,” says Stefan Hämäläinen, LKAB’s urban transformation manager.
The detailed schedule refers to 1,740 dwellings in Malmberget. By 2019, these residents will have been compensated and relocated to new housing. This year, 78 apartment units owned by LKAB’s will be affected.
Municipal facilities such as the sports centre, the elderly care residence and the secondary school will also be affected within a few years. As previously planned, these facilities will be replaced by new buildings in new locations in Gällivare.
Malmberget has undergone urban transformation for more than 50 years. However, the changes have never taken place at such a rapid pace. At the same time, it is a unique opportunity for the Municipality to create new civic buildings and housing in a modern community. LKAB also plans to relocate, and thereby preserve, several buildings of cultural and historic significance.
“The schedule for acquisition applies to all categories of property owners in the affected areas, while plans for relocation refer, above all, to housing. Housing is the important priority. We want to minimize the effects of mining on local residents and their living environment. Some of the premises in the affected areas will still be approved for occupancy for a little longer than what is stated in the schedule,” says Stefan Hämäläinen.
LKAB has recently presented a compensation model that will provide a basis for the urban transformation. In broad terms, this is intended to encourage building construction in the orefields communities.
The schedule for urban transformation in Malmberget is available at: lkab.com/sv/Framtid/Samhallsomvandling/Nar/Tidplan/
LKAB is an international high-tech minerals group that mines and upgrades the unique iron ore of northern Sweden for the global steel market. Sustainability is core to our business and our ambition is to be one of the industry’s most innovative, resource-efficientand responsible companies. The group had sales of more than SEK 20 billion in 2014 and employs about 4,500 people in 15 countries. Other group business include industrial minerals, drilling systems, rail transport, rockwork services and property management.
