Copenhagen Malmo Port is located in Malmo, Sweden, the seat of Skane county, across the Oresund (Sound) about 15 nautical miles east-southeast of Copenhagen, Denmark, and about 88 kilometers west-southwest of Sweden's Port of Ahus. A wide variety of good are imported and exported through the Copenhagen Malmo Port, the heart of the busy Malmo industrial and transportation. The Oresund Link, a bridge and tunnel system, connects the Copenhagen Malmo Port with Copenhagen across the Sound. In 2005, over 271 thousand people lived in the home city of the Copenhagen Malmo Port.

The Copenhagen Malmo Port's shipbuilding industry is a major contributor to the city of Malmo, which also relies on construction-related, high-tech, and pharmaceuticals industries. In the early 1990s, the city and the Copenhagen Malmo Port underwent serious economic problems, and thousands of jobs were lost, leaving the city with the highest unemployment rate in Sweden. Completion of the Oresund Bridge in 1999 brought economic recovery to the Copenhagen Malmo Port and Malmo, although it still suffers high unemployment and lower wages than the rest of Sweden.

Malmo, Sweden, is the third largest city in Sweden. Located in the country's southernmost province, it is the county seat with a total urban population of over 258 thousand. One of Sweden's three official Metropolitan areas, the urban area contains Malmo and 11 other municipalities.

Copenhagen Malmo Port is the result of a unique bi-national alliance where two ports in different countries consolidated their port operations in one organization and legal entity. In 1997, the managing directors of the Port of Copenhagen and the Port of Malmo met to talk about possible collaboration in the Oresund Region that was being created by the new Oresund Bridge and Tunnel.

By late that year, the two ports had agreed on working closely together, although they had not yet determined what form that cooperation would take. In late 1998, the Mayors of Copenhagen and Malmo agreed to merge the two ports into the Copenhagen Malmo Port and create a strong cross-border commercial region.

The next year in 1999, the boards governing the two ports set up a joint port operation company, Copenhagen Malmo Port, with the goal of making Copenhagen Malmo Port operational by January 2000, some six months before the Oresund Bridge opened.

During 1999, the program to integrate the two ports was developed and employees from the ports were brought together to build team spirit and a positive environment. The new Copenhagen Malmo Port management invited customers to a review of the plans, and reaction was positive.

Language courses were conducted to help port staff with port-related terms in both Danish and Swedish, and a temporary Copenhagen Malmo Port website was launched. Despite these efforts, the legal formation of the new Copenhagen Malmo Port was delayed when the countries' legislatures were slow to act.

In 2000, the legal framework for the Copenhagen Malmo Port was established in both Sweden and Denmark, and the Oresund Bridge was opened. Later that year, the merger steering group completed its work. The Port of Copenhagen became a government-owned public limited company, and the Port of Malmo decided to approve the merger.

In 2001, the Copenhagen Malmo Port became a fact. The official opening was attended by the Danish Minister of Transport, the Swedish Minister of Trade and Industry, the Major of Copenhagen, and the Chairman of the Malmo municipal board as well as 450 invited guests.

Review and History    Port Commerce    Cruising and Travel    Satellite Map    Contact Information