Denmark to build 9 artificial Islands

Denmark is planning to construct 9 artificial islands that will host a new industrial zone in the southern coast of Copenhagen.

The project comes after a recent initiative in which 20,000 new residences will be constructed on a land reclaimed from the sea north of the capital.

According to officials, the islands will occupy an area of more than 3 million m³. The Danish government plans to accomplish the project by 2040. 

The project that still needs to be approved by the Danish parliament, will address space shortage in Copenhagen by providing space for up to 380 new businesses, 17 kilometers of new coastline and more than $8 billion in economic activity. One island will host a waste conversion plant that will transform refuse from the capital into biogas, store windmills' energy and hold cleaning waste water. The project that will be called “Holmene,” will become Denmark's ''Silicon Valley''.

The islands will be realized one by one using 26 million m³ surplus soil from buildings and subway projects. The cost of the project is estimated at $490 million. Urban Power's Arne Cermak Nielsen explains: "The strategy has several advantages. It can be developed stepwise without leaving the impression of an unfinished project, if a new economic recession appears. Furthermore, the islands can be thematically developed, leaving the best conditions for the innovative industry and research within green tech, bio tech, life science and future yet unknown sectors. The quality of being by the water should not be underestimated, and the shores of the islands and the delta that emerge between them has a unique potential."

Sources: Guardian.com Newatlas.com DW.com