The opening of the Øresund Bridge between Copenhagen Malmö in Sweden further enhances Copenhagen's position at the heart of Northern Europe. However, whilst this massive investment has (Dkr 14.7bn or $2.33 billlion) clearly created many opportunities to enhance trade and communications as evidenced in cross border activity in the retail and entertainment sectors, it has not been an trouble free process. Since its inauguration July 1st 2000, the Danish Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Danish Industry among others, have highlighted what that they see as cumbersome tax and labor market regulations affecting those inhabitants that choose to seek employment across the divide. With citizens from either side of the bridge working and paying taxes on one side, whilst living and using public services on the other, fully realizing the goal of uniting the two communities on cultural and economic grounds is proving to be a lengthier task than first estimated.

Economy:
Copenhagen has a healthy economy with low unemployment and income per capita that is above the national average. Nearly two thirds of people employed in the city work in the service sector while other important industries include tourism and manufacturing. Known for its significant medical science industries, the Øresund region is responsible for 60 percent of life science production in Scandinavia and is home to 111 biotech companies such as LEO Pharmaceuticals, Ferring, Astra Gambro, Novo Nordisk, ACADIA Pharmaceuticals, Structural Bioinformatics, Phytera and Biogen. The region also boasts the largest IT-cluster in Scandinavia with nearly 100,000 employees and the city of Copenhagen is home to Nokia's largest research centre outside Finland.

Local Infrastructure:
On a range of factors including service and travel times between the airport and the city center, Copenhagen Airport is ranked no. 1 in the world by IATA in 2002. Services include over 200 weekly passenger departures to 16 cities in Eastern and Central Europe, including the largest number of departures to the Baltic area and frequent connections to 27 Nordic destinations. In 2001 the airport served 18.1 million passengers. Frequent train services provide the shortest airport to city, travel time in Europe. In terms of cargo transport, Copenhagen Airport is ranked in the top ten in Europe by ACI, handling some 400,000 tons of cargo annually. In addition to being well placed to serve Northern Europe, all major European Cities are within easy and regular reach by air and by road within 24 hours. Substantial investment within Copenhagen itself includes the expansion of Copenhagen Airport, a rail link between the airport and the city and the city's first metro system, which will commence operation on 19th October 2002. The project will feature new, state of the art, driverless trains, which will run around the clock. During the initial stage trains will run from Nørreport, in the city centre, to Lergravsparken, in eastern Amager (the island to the south east of the city centre), and from Nørreport to Ørestad, the new development area on central Amager. Thus for the first time large urban areas to the east and west of the city will be linked via the city center.

Infrastructure Investment:
The Øresund Bridge EUR 4.5 billion ($5.3 billion)
The Malmö-metro EUR 1 billion ($1.17 billion)
The Copenhagen metro EUR 1.2 billion ($1.4 billion)
New Copenhagen railways EUR 2.2 billion ($2.5 billion)
New Skåne railways EUR 2.2 billion ($2.5 billion)
Expansion of Copenhagen Airport EUR 1.1 billion ($1.3 billion)
Motorway extensions EUR 0.8 billion ($.94 billion)
Total EUR 13 billion ($15 bilion)

Source: Distribution Council Denmark

Local Workforce:
The Øresund region has a total workforce in the region of 1.7million with an average 40 years of age. Thanks to a high concentration of educational institutions in the region, this includes a large pool of highly educated people. The region is fast becoming a significant European player in terms of education, science and research, currently bettered only by London, Paris and Berlin. Biotechnological and medical research are among its most advanced areas of education and research.

Standard of Living:
Copenhagen enjoys a low crime rate and offers excellent living standards based on education, health, economy, social conditions, culture and welfare. Over 19% of Copenhagen's total area is of a recreational nature, well above the European average for major cities. The Øresund region also offers wide variety of beaches, marinas and forests. All beaches live up to international standards regarding the cleanliness of the water.

Business Costs:
According to an annual report published in 2002 by international property consultant Healey & Baker and its global partner Cushman & Wakefield, Copenhagen is extremely competitive in terms of office space rental costs. With a cost of EUR 341, Copenhagen was shown to be significantly more competitive than cities such as London, Paris, Frankfurt, Stockholm and Luxembourg.