Client: Municipality of Varberg
Date: January 2024
Location: Varberg, Sweden
The city of Varberg in Sweden is undertaking an ambitious urban development programme in the area of Värö including the development of a new €26m train station and 2,000 new homes. To finance their development needs, the Municipality of Varberg worked with Bax’s Mobility and European Programmes teams to develop a European funding strategy that would unlock the funding the city needs.
Varberg is a growing commuter city, and faces growing demand for critical infrastructure including a new railway station, enhancing green mobility, and fostering sustainable housing projects. With investment plans that exceed the city’s budget, Varberg wanted to integrate European funding to scale its vision while aligning with European Union priorities such as climate resilience and regional connectivity.
Approach
Bax worked closely with Varberg’s Business and Destination Development department to design a European approach, running in-depth consultations with the team of Varberg to understand their funding needs.
Consultations covered not only the train station development, but long-term urban development objectives, to ensure the funding strategy fit into Varberg’s wider ambitions.
The European Programmes team then developed an integrated portfolio of EU funding streams that fit Varberg’s requirements, finding synergies between programmes and providing advice for applying to each stream.
As part of their research, the team interviewed two representatives from grant and loan instruments to provide Varberg with tailored information from these high-potential funding programmes.
Bax’s Mobility team provided content expertise for the assignment, recommending strategic next steps for Varberg to access funding and capacity at national and European level.
Impact
It’s been great working with Bax—always delivering high-quality results with professionalism. The EU funding strategy will definitely make it easier for the city to achieve its goals of securing investment funds. Thanks everyone for a job well done!
– Louise Wallmander, City of Varberg
