Published 2026-10-23 · Event 2026-10-21 · The editorial team

Sundsvall planning committee backs 42-hectare plan for power-intensive industry at Almåsen

Sundsvall's urban planning committee handled the detailed plan for Vattjom 2:42 and Söderåsen 2:6 in Almåsen on 21 October 2026. The plan covers about 42 hectares next to SCA's timber terminal in Töva and names data centres as an example of the power-intensive use it is meant for. According to SVT, the committee proposed that the municipal council adopt the plan. The council is expected to decide on 30 November.

Item 125 on the urban planning committee's agenda for 21 October 2026 was approval ahead of adoption of the detailed plan for Vattjom 2:42 et al., an industrial and business area in Almåsen (case SBN-2025-00470-102). In the officers' report dated 14 October, the planning office proposes that the committee ask the municipal council to adopt the plan under chapter 5, section 27 of the Planning and Building Act. SVT reported on 22 October that the committee decided to make that proposal. According to SVT, no party voted against, but some parties did not take part in the decision at this stage. The committee's minutes were not yet published on the municipality's committee page when we checked on 23 October.

According to the plan description, the plan area is about 42 hectares and lies about 10 kilometres from central Sundsvall. It extends the existing business area at SCA's Töva timber terminal. Permitted uses are industry, business and technical facilities, aimed at power-intensive operations. The plan description states that such operations can, for example, be data centres with associated activities. Buildings may cover at most 45 per cent of the plot area within the zone, and the maximum ridge height is 20 metres. Two 220 kV transmission lines and a 130 kV line run in a power-line corridor south of the area, and a 130 kV regional line crosses it.

The process was started by a private developer. Zoningpartners North AB received a positive planning decision in autumn 2025 to test industry, business and correctional-facility use on the land. The officers' report says the correctional-facility use was removed after consultation. The report also says that the parallel process to establish an AI centre in the area was a major issue at the consultation meeting. The report states that remaining objections, mainly from nearby residents, could not be met. It adds that the operation-specific assessment is made in the environmental permitting of a concrete establishment, not in the detailed plan. According to SVT, the municipality neither owns the land nor is responsible for the individual establishment.

In its review statement, the municipality notes that E.ON Energidistribution withdrew its objections on 9 October after an agreement on where a switchgear would be placed. The municipal executive office's comment in the review points out that the potential need for cooling water in the area has not been investigated. It also notes that drinking water cannot be assumed to be available for cooling.

The municipal plan documents do not name a future operator. In February 2026, the municipality announced that the Finnish company Verda Cloud Oy is establishing an AI centre in Sundsvall municipality, outside central Sundsvall, and that Zoningpartners North AB is leading preparations for construction start. Verda described the project in March as an AI data centre in Sundsvall. In October, SVT linked the 42-hectare plan to Verda's AI centre. None of the sources gives a power capacity in megawatts, an investment figure or a timetable for construction. According to SVT and the municipality's project page, the case goes to the municipal executive committee on 16 November and to the municipal council on 30 November 2026.

Why it matters

A detailed plan is what makes building rights possible. If the council adopts it and it gains legal force, Sundsvall will have about 40 hectares of zoned land next to transmission lines, aimed at power-intensive uses such as data centres. It is the first site in Sundsvall municipality in the register.

What remains unknown

The committee's minutes, the council's decision, whether the plan will be appealed, which operator will build on the site, the power capacity and grid-connection date, cooling-water arrangements, investment size and construction timetable are not yet public.

Sources