Relocating In Lapland

One of the most ambitious town-relocation exercises in history will see the capital of Swedish Lapland, Kiruna, move 4km, according to the German Financial Times.

Kiruna, the small lakeside capital of Lapland has been mined so extensively by mining company LKAB, that its operations have now spread under the community itself and large cracks at ground level are threatening to swallow up large parts of the town.

The multi-billion dollar project is one of the most ambitious town-relocation exercises in history. In the course of the next few decades up to 300 houses, schools, hospitals, the city hall and a famous church will all have to be torn down or moved from their current location and the new Kiruna built 4km away. Costs, not including construction of new roads and railway lines, are roughly estimated at EUR3.3bn.

What makes it even more ambitious is Lapland spends eight months of the year in Winter conditions in temperatures that can drop to as low as -50°C, thus make it a challenging environment to conduct any major building projects.