Page 69 - Port of Kokkola Handbook & Directory

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTWorld-class location is winning formulaCity of KokkolaJonne Sandberg, Development Director, City of KokkolaKokkola is in line to develop between 500 and 1,000 new jobs in two to three years thanks to a €300 million grant from the EU for the creation of new greenfield bio-refinery and chemical industries in the Kokkola Industrial Park (KIP).created by the City of Kokkola in association with the Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius which acts as a joint institution carrying out teaching and research under the auspices of the universities of Jyväskylä, Oulu and Vaasa. The Consortium’s areas of specialisation mainly reflect those of its university partners: applied chemistry, education, data processing, natural and social sciences and regional studies, business and administration and materials technology. The projects will create a need for new local employees, new homes, shops and leisure facilities.A biorefinery is a facility that integrates biomass conversion processes and equipment to produce fuels, power, heat, and value-added chemicals. The biorefinery concept is aligned to today's petroleum refinery, which produces multiple fuels and products from petroleum.the strength of external resources. The latest organisation to take upJonne Sandberg, the City of Kokkola’s Development Director, says: “Kokkola is in a unique location and is easily accessible by road, rail and air. The city has become one of Scandinavia’s major inorganic production sites. Thanks to our well-developed logistical connections, synergy and positive atmosphere for industry, we have attracted major chemical industries to locate in Kokkola. As a strongly developing site, new space for industrial activities has been created, and a tight network of connections, infrastructure, and services is available to help new companies to establish and maintain world-class chemical production at the site.”The Kokkola University Consortium Chydenius undertakes research in the fields of applied chemistry, information technology, social work, business studies, education, and health sciences. This is made possible through intensive regional, national and international networking, and can take the form of basic, applied or developmental research or consultancy. In accordance with the aims laid down for a university consortium, the knowledge and expertise generated by this research is employed primarily within the consortium’s own teaching; especially its multidisciplinary postgraduate teaching, and in the context of regional development. This research work takes place almost exclusively onresidence in Kokkola is Natural Resources Institute Luke which established a strategic office on the Kokkola campus in April 2017.New research and development projects coming to the city are being“Chemistry and bioeconomy are especially strong in Central Ostrobothnia, and so is the food sector. All of these will be linked asHANDBOOK & DIRECTORY PORT OF KOKKOLAThe executive vice president of Natural Resources Institute Finland, Johanna Buchert, said that Luke will participate heavily in campus co- operation. “That is why the Kokkola campus with its University Consortium is extremely important for Luke in the establishment of co-operation, and it will complement the activities of Natural Resources Institute Finland within the bioeconomy,” said Ms. Buchert.67