Weser-Ems - Economy
A dynamic economy between Oldenburg und Osnabrück
Niedersachsen's main economic centres are the cities of Oldenburg (services, administration and science) and Osnabrück (steel and metal industries and engineering). Other important sectors in the north include maritime industries such as shipbuilding (especially at the Meyer shipyard in Papenburg) and ports (Emden and Wilhelmshaven) and, of course, tourism. The JadeWeserPort is planned for construction in Wilhelmshaven, which is an important navy base and oil port. This future container port will exploit Wilhelmshaven's strengths as a deep-water port and should also help to overcome the structural crisis affecting the economy of that city and the surrounding areas.
The kreisfreie Stadt of Emden, in the north-west of the Bezirk, is experiencing both strong economic growth, underpinned by the car industry, and a declining population. The kreisfreie Stadt of Delmenhorst, which has a population of about 76 000 and is adjacent to Bremen, has close economic ties with its bigger neighbour and is currently having to cope with high unemployment, fairly major job losses and an economy which has been in recession for some time.
The economy in the southern and central parts of the Regierungsbezirk is generally more vibrant than in the north. There are at least two reasons for this. Firstly, it occupies a favourable position on the transport network: the A1 motorway links it with Bremen and Hamburg and with the densely populated parts of Nordrhein-Westfalen, such as the Rhine axis (the "Rheinschiene"). Secondly, the region has successfully managed the chain of wealth creation, from a highly productive agricultural sector, through processing to marketing. This important region for the agri-food industry is increasingly becoming home to businesses, generally medium-sized ones, in other branches of industry which are not related to the food sector in the narrow sense.
|
|