Lifeport Arnhem-Nijmegen Region is situated along the major rivers and amidst lush greenery and woodlands. A region with potential and ambition. The region is on the cusp of a major leap in scale. Not to grow for the sake of growth, but to keep the region liveable, attractive and vibrant for future generations. Administrators Alexandra van Huffelen (Chair of The Economic Board Regio Arnhem Nijmegen and Chair of the Executive Board of Radboud University) and Hubert Bruls (chair of the Arnhem-Nijmegen Green Metropolitan Region and mayor of Nijmegen) see the Regional Investment Agenda as the key instrument for taking that step.
The Arnhem-Nijmegen region is the fifth-largest economy in the Netherlands. Yet economic growth is lagging behind the rest of the country. This is remarkable for an area with over 800,000 inhabitants, some 90,000 students and a strategic location between the Randstad and the Ruhr region. That is precisely where the challenge lies. Van Huffelen: “We have fantastic businesses and knowledge institutions here. But if we don’t scale up, we run the risk of businesses and talent leaving. We cannot afford that.” Bruls adds: “Growing in order to retain sounds contradictory. But it is precisely if you want to remain strong that you must focus on economic growth. Standing still means falling behind.”
Next step in cooperation
The region has experience with large-scale cooperation. Previously, the Regio Deal Arnhem-Nijmegen and the NOVEX Development Perspective came about. The Regional Investment Agenda, developed together with the province of Gelderland, is the logical next step, according to Bruls. "It is a joint, coherent approach that increases the broad prosperity of our residents and contributes to national challenges. The agenda brings focus, coherence and implementation. With it, we show that the region is ready to make a serious contribution to the Dutch and European agendas. The Arnhem Nijmegen region has a lot to offer the Netherlands and Europe. Take our location alone. In the Randstad you live on the edge of the continent, here you live on the edge of the centre of Europe." That advantage comes with decisiveness. Bruls: "We can also deliver. The Arnhem-Nijmegen region is one of the few regions in the country that for years in a row has met the agreements made with the national government on housing targets."
Investing in quality
The Regional Investment Agenda focuses on physical investments as well as on the region’s cultural and recreational appeal. Van Huffelen: “We cannot compete in Europe if we do not have attractive cultural facilities or world-class science. Moreover, too many students still leave the region after completing their studies. If we want them to stay, we need to offer more than just a job. There must also be things to do.”
The investment package amounts to nearly 50 billion euros up to 2040. Particular attention is being paid to growth in the key sectors of health, semiconductors and energy. “The only chip factory in the Benelux is located in our region. The National Centre of Expertise on Grid Congestion is based in our region. This is where solutions to bottlenecks in the energy grid are developed. And in Nijmegen alone, 30 per cent of the working population is employed in the healthcare sector,” Bruls cites as examples. Van Huffelen explains: “One of the challenges we face in the coming period is how we can manufacture chips that use less energy. We can do that. The knowledge and expertise are right here. In doing so, we are helping both the Netherlands and Europe to move forward.”
Unique partner fund
Investments do not come only from the government. With the Lifeport Partner Fund, the Arnhem Nijmegen region is setting up a unique private fund to which companies and institutions jointly contribute. The aim is to invest structurally over the next ten years in technology, talent development, sustainable infrastructure and international profiling. Bruls: "We have a vision, a plan, an investment agenda and we are putting money on the table for this ourselves." "We show that we are not just holding up our hand," Van Huffelen also says. A feature of the fund is that participants do not pay for, say, the road in front of their own door, but for infrastructure that benefits everyone. Bruls: "That creates an atmosphere in the region of: we do it together. Not just shouting, but investing together."
Hurry
Time is pressing, Van Huffelen and Bruls stress. "The challenges are there now. If we don't change the switches in time, we will be stuck with the negative consequences in 10 years' time." Van Huffelen adds that the region will be a lot less modest. "My experience in The Hague was that the Arnhem-Nijmegen region was hardly on the radar. A shame, because there is SO much potential here. That's going to change."
