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Dutch contractors secure EUR 500 million port works
Boskalis and Van Oord have been awarded a major dredging contract for the expansion of the Port of Luleå in northern Sweden, as the region prepares for higher cargo volumes linked to fossil free steel, raw material exports and renewable energy development.
The contract forms part of the Malmporten Project and was awarded by the Swedish Maritime Administration and the Port of Luleå. It has a total value of about EUR 500 million, split equally between the two Dutch dredging groups.
For Luleå, the project is not just a port upgrade. It is a capacity reset for one of northern Europe’s most important industrial gateways. The port serves a region where mining, steelmaking and energy projects are being reshaped around lower carbon production.
Deeper access for larger bulk vessels
The joint venture will deepen the port’s fairway and harbour basin, allowing vessels with a draft of up to 14.7 metres to call at Luleå. The works will enable ships with cargo capacity of up to 85,000 tonnes, compared with the current level of about 45,000 tonnes.
That increase matters for shippers because port depth often works like a bottleneck in a factory line. The quay may be ready, the cargo may be available, and the vessel may be chartered, but if the fairway is too shallow, the supply chain still has to move in smaller, less efficient parcels.
Larger vessels are expected to improve transport efficiency and reduce emissions per tonne of cargo moved. For bulk trades connected to steel, minerals and energy, that can affect both cost and carbon accounting.
Work to run through ice free seasons
Project execution is scheduled to begin in spring 2027. The dredging campaign will be carried out during the ice free seasons and is due to be completed before mid August 2030.
The scope includes dredging about 14 million cubic metres of material, ranging from sand, silt and clay to moraine soils, boulders and large volumes of fresh rock. Part of the dredged material will be reused for land reclamation, supporting the development of a new deepwater port area.
The equipment spread will include trailing suction hopper dredgers, backhoe dredgers, grab dredgers and drill and blast platforms. The mix reflects the geological complexity of the northern Gulf of Bothnia, where contractors must deal with both soft sediments and hard seabed conditions.
Environmental controls built into execution
Environmental protection will be a central part of the works. Planned mitigation measures include silt screens, bubble curtains, environmental buckets, turbidity monitoring and dredging techniques designed to limit the spread of suspended material.
Such measures are increasingly important in major dredging projects, particularly when port expansion is linked to the green transition. The question for many infrastructure schemes is simple: how can ports expand capacity for lower carbon supply chains without creating avoidable local environmental pressure during construction?
In Luleå, that balance will be tested over several seasons of work.
Contractors return after preparatory works
Boskalis and Van Oord are already familiar with the project area. In 2024, the companies carried out preparatory dredging works in Luleå, removing around 1.5 million cubic metres of sediment, hard moraine soils and large boulders.
That earlier phase helped prepare the port and fairway for the larger dredging campaign now awarded under the Malmporten Project.
The expansion supports a wider industrial transformation in Norrbotten, where investment in fossil free steel and sustainable energy is increasing demand for reliable maritime capacity. The Port of Luleå is expected to play a larger role in moving raw materials, project cargo and industrial exports linked to that development.
For Boskalis, the contract fits its stated focus on long term demand drivers such as global trade growth, energy demand, population growth and climate related infrastructure needs. For Van Oord, the award adds another large scale European dredging project tied to port access, industrial development and energy transition logistics.
The works will deepen one of Sweden’s key northern maritime gateways at a time when industrial cargo flows are becoming heavier, cleaner and more dependent on port infrastructure that can handle larger vessels.
