Ministry of Transport and Communications and Sámi Parliament discussed again the Arctic railway report
On 25 January, representatives of the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Sámi Parliament discussed the content of the final report and the reports of the sub-working groups on the Arctic railway project. The meeting was a follow-up to the discussions held in December.
Based on section nine of the Act on the Sámi Parliament, the Finnish Sámi Parliament had requested negotiations on the work of the Finnish-Norwegian working group preparing the report and on the content of the working group's final report and of the sub-groups' reports.
The negotiations between the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Sámi Parliament were concluded on 25 January 2019. The final report of the Arctic railway project will be published late January or early February.
The working group's final report is a preliminary report of the Rovaniemi-Kirkenes railway routing. No decision on the construction of the railway or the choice of routing has been made either in Finland or in Norway.
In order to further study the Arctic railway project, a Finnish-Norwegian working group was established for a term from 9 May to 14 December 2018. It examined such key issues relating to the railway routing as funding and financing, questions relating to the environment and the Sámi, and planning and permit procedures.
The Finnish members of the working group represented the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ministry of the Environment, Transport Infrastructure Agency (former Transport Agency), Regional Council of Lapland, Sámi Parliament, and Skolt Village Assembly, and Norway's representatives were from the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Norwegian National Rail Administration and the area of Finnmark. Other stakeholders were also heard in the process.
Inquiries:
Chair of the working group, Director-General Sabina Lindström, Ministry of Transport and Communications, tel. +358 40 527 6103, [email protected], Twitter @LindstromSabina
