80 billion investment aimed at disaster

„Honourable President. The situation is currently extremely dire, to say the least. The situation that has arisen due to the so-called Bakka Project is extraordinarily poor. People now face the risk that the construction and processes that have been worked on for years are in jeopardy. This concerns an investment of 80 billion that is threatened due to legal challenges.

It mainly occurs to me that this is a matter of ill will, as the societal interests are enormous and many have a lot at stake. People have worked according to all regulations at all stages of the process. The municipalities involved have operated in accordance with the provisions of the planning laws, and a master plan is in effect in all of them. It may be that those who initiated the legal challenges did not realise the consequences of their actions and thought of this measure as a test case for the future. If so, this is completely misguided and absurd to intervene at the final stage of this project to seek a future vision in the execution of works.

Provisions for lava fields that enjoy special protection have been in existence since 1999, making it strange that now people want to overturn everything that has been done under new laws. This matter actually involves a short pipeline over lava fields. Let us keep in mind that lava fields have been breached in various places, and we need not look further than to the neighbouring municipalities of the capital to see that. Is it significant where in the country the work is being carried out, asks the uninformed?

This project has been worked on in broad agreement and political consensus up to now. Therefore, it is not surprising that locals are taken aback and may even feel saddened when some individual members of parliament rejoice that the execution is in turmoil and people are facing significant damage. Now it’s time for this to come to an end. We must find a way out of this deadlock and put these matters into a channel that allows progress to continue in broad agreement towards future development without losing our credibility.”

Þórunn Egilsdóttir in the work of the parliament on 31 August 2016.