Lemvig’s vice mayor is calling on the Danish state to help decide the future of the FMC Cheminova site on Harboøre Tange, including possible weapons production, once the plant shuts down.
Social Democrat vice mayor Lone Pilgaard says it is essential that the state becomes part of the site’s future. As DR reported on September 14, FMC plans to end production at Rønland at the end of 2027.
Pilgaard floated the proposal at the Social Democrats’ annual meeting in Aalborg over the weekend. She argues that the state originally permitted a chemical plant at the location. According to her, the state therefore shares responsibility for the generational pollution left behind.
In Pilgaard’s view, the local community can only recover quickly if the site is used for state weapons or chemical ammunition production. She points to the roughly 400 FMC employees losing their jobs. The entire Lemvig city council backs the idea, per DR.
Pilgaard says the proposal fits the government’s strategy of strengthening Danish defense capacity and creating production inside Denmark. She adds that the municipality needs options that work in the short term, not only long-term plans.
Defense correspondent points to North Jutland
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described the idea of a weapons factory on Harboøre Tange as a very good one during the weekend, DR reports. DR’s defense correspondent, Mads Korsager, is still doubtful that the state would launch weapons production at the site.
Korsager says he cannot currently see a fully state-owned Danish production being placed there. He notes that the state is already moving ahead with an ammunition factory in North Jutland, Krudten in Elling. According to Korsager, that project is where the state has placed all its eggs.
The Elling plant is planned as semi-state production of powder and ammunition together with a Norwegian company, as stated by Korsager. On that basis, he finds it hard to see the state opening additional production facilities.
Korsager stresses that this does not make the Rønland site uninteresting. Its distance from the nearest neighbor could appeal to other producers, including Ukrainian arms manufacturers, in his assessment.
He notes that Ukrainian interest in opening production facilities in Denmark has surfaced several times. Such openings have also created unease and local reactions in the affected communities, according to Korsager. He points out that the Harboøre Tange site is Danish land with few nearby residents.
DR says it contacted Defense Minister Jeppe Bruus of the Social Democrats for a response to Pilgaard’s request. According to DR, the minister had not replied to its inquiry.
