To realise these goals, the municipal council, together with the municipality’s tourism agencies and companies, returned to Nuuk several times to announce the possibilities of the road and published the plan through the press. After UNESCO approved our World Heritage proposals in 2018, I suggested that the municipal council build a real road from Kangerlussuaq to Aasivissuit, so we approved another DKK 27 million for this task. The municipal council had, in 2016, approved DKK 27 million for the construction of a simple ATV track between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut. I took over from the former mayor after I became Mayor in 2017. So, for many years, the municipality has tried to develop the road project on its own. Later, it has been a topic of conversation between the municipality and the Government of Greenland, but national politicians unfortunately did not support it for a long period.
Malik Berthelsen: Since the 1960s, when there was an American airbase with soldiers in Kangerlussuaq, the US Air Force had a proposal to build the road, which unfortunately was refused by the Danish government. Justin Barnes: How long have you been working towards this goal? The final step, of course, has been that the Government (Naalakkersuisut) has approved the EIA report. The primary steps towards getting the construction started came in 20 when the municipal council allocated DKK 54 million for the construction of ATV tracks and a road to Aasivissuit. Malik Berthelsen: The road has been a vision running for many years with ideas and proposals from many interests. Justin Barnes: What have been the primary steps towards building this road? For Sisimiut, which is situated at the coast, the road will give much better access to the high regularity airport in Kangerlussuaq, thereby lowering the cost, time and uncertainty of getting citizens/businesses, tourists and goods to or from Sisimiut. For Kangerlussuaq, situated on land near the Ice Cap, the road will give year-round access to goods and supplies, since Kangerlussuaq cannot be accessed by ships in the winter months from middle of December to end of May, because the long fiord of Kangerlussuaq is frozen in these months. Just like all other regions and countries do around the world. Malik Berthelsen: I think that we, in the Municipality of Qeqqata and in Greenland, need to improve our transport and travel infrastructure and give better opportunities for citizens and businesses to improve their lives and businesses. Justin Barnes: What are some of the needs of the communities and how will this road help? A safe and fast road link opens up opportunities for the export of fresh seafood, allows tourists to quickly stop over in Greenland and offers Greenlanders direct connections to the rest of the world.” Kangerlussuaq can connect Greenland directly to Asia, North America and Europe. A road between Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq is the fastest shortcut between the cities on the west coast and the great world. Freedom is to be able to travel, exchange ideas and trade with the outside world without barriers. I totally agree with renowned professor Minik Rosing’s words about the road: “The road to freedom. It will improve the livelihood of people and give business sectors better opportunities, since the road will connect the two towns with cheap, flexible and independent transportation opportunities and, at the same time, open up the land between the two towns. Malik Berthelsen: The road between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut will connect the main airport of Greenland and the second largest town of Greenland. Justin Barnes: What does this road mean for your municipality and its people? In this ‘Polar Matters’ interview, Malik Berthelsen, Mayor of Qeqqata Municipality and Chairman of the Municipal Council, speaks to Justin Barnes, Fellow at Polar Research and Policy Initiative, about the process of developing the road, its economic value, and what the new road means to the communities and to Greenland. The road between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut has been discussed for many years, and is seen as an important way to promote tourism, mobility and other investments in the region. On 20 July 2020, Greenland’s first ever road project meant to connect settlements officially broke ground. The construction of the Arctic Circle Road, connecting Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut, commenced in 2020. The Arctic Circle Road: The Road to Freedom?
0 kommentar(er)
