Public maintenance backlog piling up

Recent estimates suggested that the public maintenance backlog was around DKK 250 million.

But a new report from road and tunnel authority Landsverk reveals that the backlog is more than twice as big.

According to the report, the maintenance backlog for roads is DKK 375 million, and the backlog for public buildings is DKK 270 million – a total of DKK 645 million.

Maintenance “not a political priority”

Finance and transport minister Jørgen Niclasen says he cannot promise a quick solution to the problem, as MPs voted in favour of new construction projects rather than maintenance of existing buildings and roads when finalising the details of the 2020 budget.

Landsverk has an annual maintenance budget of DKK 21 million, says Jón Ó. Sólsker, head of Landsverk’s construction department.

This, he says, is only enough to cover the most urgent maintenance work, and nowhere near enough to fill the backlog. By introducing significant saving measures and investing in long-term green solutions, the backlog can be filled in 10-15 years at the very earliest, according to Sólsker.

Translated by prosa.fo