The first sod has been done and now Oslo Economics concludes that a longer runway will be profitable for society. The long-standing claims from local driving forces have thus been confirmed.
The local company Polarsirkelen Lufthavnutvikling was established in April 2007, and the plans for a new major airport outside Mo i Rana were already well known by then. The patience in Nord-Helgeland must therefore be described as exceptionally good, and now the aim is for the first take off in the autumn of 2025. The development is under the auspices of state-owned Avinor, which is also behind the operation of the other leading airports in the country.
Rana Blad told today that Oslo Economics, commissioned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, has looked at the societal benefits of extending the planned 2,200 meters with an airstrip of 2,400 metres. The investigation has looked at the market basis, profitability and ripple effects of such a measure.
In the report, Oslo Economics writes: "We find that the market basis for intercontinental routes is very limited from the new Mo i Rana Airport, but that it is still profitable to establish the new airport with a runway longer than 2,200 metres. With a runway of 2,200 metres, there is a risk of restrictions on the use of the runway, also for domestic routes and to and from Europe. Given that Mo i Rana Airport will be built in any case, it is economically profitable to reduce this risk by building a longer runway. This ensures that flight operational conditions do not place restrictions on the possibility of realizing the benefits of the basic investment."