The bridge changing lives and boosting business

The Öresund bridge, which links Denmark and Sweden, has been a major part of life and business in the region for 25 years. This impressive structure connects the Danish capital, Copenhagen, with Malmö, Sweden’s third largest city. Before the bridge was built, people had to rely on ferries or short flights to travel between the two cities. The bridge, which is 16 kilometers long and includes a tunnel section, has made travel much faster and more convenient for thousands of people.

Many people now commute across the bridge for work. Oskar Damkjaer, a software engineer, lives in Copenhagen but works in Malmö. He takes the train over the bridge twice a week, using the 40-minute journey to get some work done. He says that commuting to another country is not as difficult as people might think. Laurine Deschamps, who works for a Danish gaming company in Copenhagen, lives in Malmö and commutes four times a week. She prefers Malmö because it is smaller and easier to get around, even though her job is in the busy capital.

The bridge has had a huge impact on business in the region. Since it opened, cross-border commuting has increased by more than 400 percent, and the number of people moving between the two countries has gone up by over 60 percent. Many companies have started new offices or moved their headquarters to Malmö, creating thousands of jobs. For example, parts of the Ikea Group and the Swedish bank Ikano have set up in Malmö. The city has also become a center for new technology and life science companies, with more patents being registered than in other major Swedish cities.

However, there are still some challenges. Most commuters travel from Malmö to Copenhagen, not the other way around. This is because Copenhagen offers more jobs and higher salaries. Some companies, like the online fashion marketplace Boozt, have decided to move their headquarters back to Copenhagen because it is hard to attract Danish workers to Malmö. The cost of commuting can also be high, with train tickets and car trips over the bridge being expensive. There are also different rules for taxes, pensions, and insurance in each country, which can make things complicated for people who work on the other side of the bridge.

Despite these issues, the Öresund bridge is seen as a symbol of cooperation between Denmark and Sweden. It has inspired other projects, like new tunnels and bridges that will connect more cities in the region. Experts believe that these new connections will be important for the future, especially as the region faces new challenges and opportunities. The bridge has not only changed the way people travel and work, but it has also helped to bring the two countries closer together.