Nordic Gem

[TheShammySocialist]

[b]Gothenburg
Bohuslan-Vastergotland Provinces[/b]

The western suburbs of Gothenburg had been ravaged by the civil conflict that gripped the Union of Sweden almost a year previous, and most residents had elected to move into the city, rather than move back to their war-damaged homes. Many suburban homes of these communities, Andalen and Hjuvik, were abandoned to the harsh winter that followed, and no effort had been made to really reintegrate suburbs that no one wanted to live in. Unlike in Stockholm, where many homes that were damaged had been turned into middle-class tenements, many offering cozy accommodations at government subsidized rates due to the loss of homes, there was no such reinvestment here. This community had also been a bastion of the far-right, and many of its citizens were killed in the resulting uprising, having launched raids into Gothenburg before being wiped out by elements of the special operations unit, Guards Battalion 1120.

Instead of trying to repopulate the area, with the primary development of Gothenburg stretching eastward and southward, it was the decision of the Gothenburg Civil Municipality and the Government of the Union of Sweden to use the basically uninhabited "dead zones" of Andalen and Hjuvik for a new infrastructure project. Appropriated from funds that were still accrued from the [i]Northern Lights[/i] project, the Union's General Assembly voted through the allocation of funds and a general approval of the project. Gothenburg's port facilities were some of the best already available in Scandinavia, featuring multiple loading and unloading points for ships from bulkers, to tankers, to container vessels. It was the intention of the government, working with the municipality, to triple the size of Gothenburg's port facilities, and easily make Gothenburg one of the largest ports in Europe.

The port would feature the pipeline terminal for the Nordic Wind oil and natural gas dual pipeline, which was expected to carry petroleum and natural gas to the interior of Sweden, and branch north and south. To fund this project alone, however, would be impossible over the short term, and despite objections by some of the members of the General Assembly, the project was urged to move forward as fast as possible. Working with the Commissioner of the Treasury, Christian Nyquist and his cohorts would play the ace they had in the hole; outside investment in the project. But it would be a safe investment, and one that would be lucrative for those involved in the project.

[b]Key Components - Port of Gothenburg - Andalen/Hjuvik Annex[/b]

[list]
[*] Expansion of Gothenburg's Container Port Facilities - Eighteen New Container Cranes/Port Support Facilities
[*] Construction of the Nordic Wind Pipeline Terminal
[*] Expansion of Chemical and Petrochemical Storage Facilities and Terminals - 5 New Terminals
[*] Expansion of Bulk Cargo Handling Areas - 6 Cranes/Bulk Cargo Support and Storage Facilities
[*] Maritime Navigation Improvement - Removing Navigation Hazards by Various Methods (Dredging, Explosives, Et Cetera)
[*] Karlskrona AB Andalen Heavy Drydock Facility - Two Super-Large Drydocks (Rated for 350m Length, 50m Beam Vessels)
[/list]

[b][size="4"]Gothunburg Port Revitalization International Monetary Bonds Issued - Announcement of Future Leases of Port Facilities at Gothenburg Port Annex[/size][/b]

[quote]"Issued by the Swedish National Bank, the [b]Gothenburg Port Revitalization Bond[/b] is a fixed-rate bond meant to help fund the construction of the Gothenburg Port Extension at Andalen and Hjuvik, expected to be one of, if not the, largest seaport in Europe. These bonds will have six year maturity rating, with a fixed-rate interest of [b]twenty-five percent[/b] return investment, which will be paid directly from the Union of Sweden's Government.

The bond represents a way for the Swedish Government to pay for the massive infrastructure project, while providing investing countries and corporations with a safe and reliable investment. The construction of these port facilities will also provide the country of Sweden, as well as the Scandinavia with a viable, major, fully-functioning port that avoids passing through the Kattegat, and pave the way for further economic development of this region. While investors will not own 'shares' of the actual port itself, this represents a safe alternative, funding of the return investment will come off duties and taxes generated from the creation of this port, which we expect to be ready in less than three years. The bond notes will be issued in the following denominations, all in Swedish Kronor (SEK) monetary amounts;"

[list]
[*] 1,000,000 SEK
[*] 2,500,000 SEK
[*] 5,000,000 SEK
[*] 10,000,000 SEK
[*] 25,000,000 SEK
[*] 50,000,000 SEK
[/list]

[i](Swedish citizens will also have the chance to buy bonds in smaller denominations if they so wish, that will include 100, 500, 1,000, 2,500, 5,000, and 10,000.)[/i]

Currently, the Swedish Government has the manpower and contractors to complete the project in a year and a half, regional contractors from Europe are welcome to bid on assisting construction, most of the work being maritime engineering, including dredging, navigation obstruction clearing, et cetera, et cetera. This work will require the use of underwater dive teams, as well as barges, ships, and other support equipment and vessels to safely and effectively perform these tasks.

Currently, the Union of Sweden is also considering the leasing of forty-five percent of the import docks for the new port annex, for countries who are interested in leasing these port facilities, priority is given to highest bidders in bond purchases, which will be issued for one calendar week. Overflow investment will be used to help construction the Nordic Wind natural gas and oil pipeline, which will hopefully service all of Scandinavia at some point in the future. The Union of Sweden will only let one corporation own, at a maximum, nine percent of the forty five percent of the import docks that is considering to put up for lease. The leasing of these docks guarantees the reduction of tariffs and import taxes on goods, depending on the item, by as much as ten to fifteen percent. All security for these docks will be provided by the Commission of Internal Security - Customs and Immigration Division.

When the bond investment period is closed, the Union of Sweden will announce awards of port facility leases.[/quote]

Edited January 16, 2012 by TheShammySocialist

[Captain Enema]

[b][i]Port of Sudan Imports and Exports Ltd.[/i][/b]

Put us down for two blocks of 50 million.

-Gentleman Johnny Germaine

[Evangeline Anovilis]

[quote][b]To: The National Bank of the Union of Sweden
From: Charlotte de Nouvelle Châteaudun
Subject: Göteborg Bonds[/b]

Madames, Monsieurs,

As I am interested in the expansion of Swedish economy and trading capacity, and as I want to help Sweden in its expansion of its port, the CCCV would be intrerested in acquiring 70 billion SEK worth of bonds. This should hopefully help much in expanding the port facilities. The money would be given by the National Bank of Croatia, where our money is stored and it can be send, as soon as you reply and sell us the bonds.

With regards,

[i]Charlotte de Nouvelle-Châteaudun[/i][/quote]

[Markus Wilding]

"Leader of Finland's Kapitalistinen liigan, Riia Ristilä, would like to purchase a $5 million bond in the name of the Kapitalistinen liigan."

[Aggressivenutmeg]

North Star Military Industries would like to purches a 50 million SEK bond.

[Subtleknifewielder]

A private individual, preferring to remain anonymous, put in a bid for a single bond of the one million denomination.

OOC: Sorry, not much you can say when it's a private purchase I hope such a purchase is alright, though?

[Centurius]

Hellenic World Services will purchase 4 50 million blocks.

[Owned-You]

Spanish Royal Banks will purchase 6 blocks of 50 million SEK bonds.

[TheShammySocialist]

[b]Swedish National Bank[/b]

"All pending bond investments that are currently being requested are hereby granted to all foreign purchasers, investments in the bonds will be allowed to continue for five more days."

Edited January 8, 2012 by TheShammySocialist

[TheShammySocialist]

The process of expanding Gothenburg's port facilities would begin with the clearing away of rubble for the docks to be put in, as well as working on eliminating navigation hazards. Onshore, crews with massive earthmovers and front end loaders, along with bulldozers began clearing away the rubble of houses left abandoned by the civil conflict over a year ago. The unsightly mess would be cleaned up in about a months' time, with the rubble being transferred to sorting stations, where a large staff of personnel would sift through the debris and collect up materials of value to be reused in the project. Massive amounts of manpower were being organized for the project onshore, with operations running into the night as rubble clearing crews worked to clear the old suburbs of Andalen and Hjuvik of their old bombed out residences.

The onshore crews would also consist of surveyors, hydrologists, geologists, and management personnel, all laying out the port's future waterfront facilities, as well as storage and cargo processing facilities. Working with geologists to confirm that the site was indeed a stable building location, crews would lay out the building plans, the sizes of buildings, as well as potential access points for rail, road, and fuel pipelines. Management personnel from Karlskrona AB would be on hand to lay out the drydock facilities as well, which would be an expansion of their maintenance and production locations for Karlskrona's Gothenburg Division.

Offshore, multiple maritime construction contractors would be working closely with the Swedish Coast Guard as they examined the navigational hazards and limitations that the port would have to deal with. The residents of Gothenburg would hear multiple explosions over the next couple weeks as navigational hazards were removed from the site, the Coast Guard would use active pinging sonar systems to drive away sea life temporarily from the underwater blast sites, in an attempt to help avoid ecological impacts on the local maritime life. Shoals and rocks would be removed by a series of blasts using plastic explosives, geysers being sent high into the air as the explosives were blown underwater. Above water maritime hazards would also be assessed, and decisions would be made on whether or not to try to attempt demolition on them.

Work on the port was starting out quickly, and as bidding on bonds was coming to a close (OOC: Next 24 Hours), the Swedish Government would count its new windfall of cash, decide what would be required of its own funds to build the project, and move forward with the plan, which was quickly coming together.

Edited January 16, 2012 by TheShammySocialist

[TheShammySocialist]

It would take well over a month and a half to clear the land of debris and prepare it for the onslaught of demolition and land preparation operations for the eventual building of the port facilities that would expand the capacity of Gothenburg's Harbor. All the while, offshore, the coast guard and maritime engineering firms continued to work on blasting away navigational hazards, preparing charts, and mapping out navigational hazards that were simply too large to be dealt with or were out of the way enough to not worry about. The waterfront of this area was being transformed, as dredging and draft work continued to move forward at a blistering pace. Dredging equipment was working around the clock to prepare the site that would feature the docking facilities for the new port facilities.

Onshore itself, crews had begun sinking large casemates into the ground in preparation for pouring concrete to form the docks themselves, while crews were busy stockpiling rails for the dock cranes. Engineers at Volvo were still preparing the large cranes for their installation, with work being done by Volvo Heavy Engineering to produce the massive beasts that would be used to unload and load containers and bulk cargo. Further work was going on inland as storage, maintenance, and shipbuilding facilities were being laid out for the port, with Karlskrona AB beginning the process of constructing two large yards and massive attendant drydocks for use in maintenance and finishing work. The suburban countryside that once was Andalen and Hjuvik was being transformed into a mass of concrete and steel as truck and heavy machinery delivered materials, equipment, and personnel into the site day after day.

The Nordic Wind pipeline terminal was also being laid out, as pipeline crews had already begun laying the massive system eastward into the interior of the country, the terminus would have offloading spots able to handle three supertankers at once. With the expansion of the port, SOPCO also planned to put together a refinery which would accompany the Nordic Wind pipeline, and increase the refining capabilities of the Kattegat Coastline. The citizens of Gothenburg could see across harbor the work going on, with Coast Guard and construction vessels plying the harbor night and day, as lights pierced the northern nights as the workers of the second and third work shifts worked through the night. Invariably, delays happened here and there, but the new expansion was beginning to take shape.