If the debt were to be distributed among the people of Kiruna, it would mean SEK 135,365 for each one.
But there are municipalities in the country that are even more highly leveraged. Ystad has the largest debts with SEK 156,792 per inhabitant (in the fact box they see more of the most indebted municipalities).
Kiruna’s municipal councilor Mats Taaveniku (S) is clear about what the debts are going to be:
– We have built too much based on the stock market we have and that is why we have the debt burden we have today.
The reason can be traced to the urban transformation, its buildings and infrastructure, and that Kiruna Municipality has chosen to take money instead of the turnkey principle, which means that LKAB builds similar functions that they dismantle.
More expensive than expected
– If you spend 700 million kroner more on a bathhouse than the original estimate and the money ran out even then, so we can’t kneel down and then we have to borrow money, so that’s a very concrete example, says Taaveniku.
Now the plan is to negotiate with LKAB to replace one property with another property and be able to use the areas that the municipality itself considers to be most suitable and economical.
Övertorneå has the lowest debt in Norrbotten with SEK 20,333 per inhabitant.