Qaqortoq Airport opened on April 16 as South Greenland’s new primary aviation gateway. The commercial land along the road leading to it remains unavailable for construction.
In a report published Wednesday, Sermitsiaq journalist Hollie Olsen Kielsen documented that the sites along the airport road remain unprepared with the access, utilities and municipal infrastructure needed for construction.
Construction of Qaqortoq’s airport access road was already well advanced by November 2015. That month, Sermitsiaq reported that contractors had reached the halfway point and expected the road to be completed after summer 2016, although the required blasting had proved more extensive than anticipated. More than a decade later, the commercial land alongside the route remains unprepared for construction.
2027 Is a Planning Date
Kommune Kujalleq is preparing a new municipal plan covering the next 10 to 15 years. Malik Lundgaard Jensen, head of the municipality’s Department of Technical Services and the Environment, told Sermitsiaq that the plan is expected to be completed in early 2027.
In a written response, Jensen told Sermitsiaq that once the new municipal plan is completed in early 2027, any potential site preparation plans would then be presented to the municipal council.
That makes early 2027 a planning milestone rather than a construction date. Any proposal would still require council approval, funding, design and construction. With no funding commitment identified, land ready for construction could remain unavailable beyond 2027.
Jensen added that municipal plan amendments for some areas toward the airport are already undergoing public consultation, including one involving hotel development. Sermitsiaq did not identify the developer or connect the amendment to the Høegh family’s project.
Separately, Pitsi Høegh, CEO and co-owner of Greenland Sagalands, has previously called for action. Høegh and her two sons are planning a 100-room hotel along the road between Qaqortoq and the airport, placing her family’s proposed investment directly within the area awaiting development.
A Financial Problem Complicates a Planning Problem
Kommune Kujalleq’s financial position adds another layer of uncertainty.
Kommune Kujalleq was fined four million Danish kroner in April after failing to make required tax payments on time from February 2023 through February 2024. Sermitsiaq reported that the ruling has created uncertainty over how future site preparation along the airport road will be financed.
Jensen said the municipality’s financial position limits how much site preparation it can finance itself.
The fine may restrict the municipality’s current options, but it arose long after work on the airport access road began. It explains today’s financing pressure while leaving unresolved why preparation of the surrounding commercial land was never aligned with the airport’s opening.
The larger issue is how a major regional gateway reached opening day without a financed plan for the commercial land around it.
Jensen Inherited the Situation
Responsibility for that history cannot fairly be placed on Jensen.
Malik Lundgaard Jensen, originally from nearby Narsaq, became head of Kommune Kujalleq’s Department of Technical Services and the Environment on October 1, 2025. The failure to prepare land along the airport road predates his appointment by many years. His recent arrival leaves the larger question with the municipality: why was the land never prepared during the decade before he took office?
Jensen confirmed the timeline directly to GreenlandEnergy.com.
The Gateway Needs an Economy Around It
GreenlandEnergy.com previously described Qaqortoq Airport as logistics insurance for the Tanbreez rare earth project. The airport shortens the distance between a problem and the people needed to solve it. It improves access for contractors, investors, bankers, inspectors and urgent equipment.
Our broader analysis of Greenland’s first generation gateway infrastructure argued that airports require hotels, workers, transportation, companies and serious projects around them.
The situation in Qaqortoq now provides a direct test of that argument.
Qaqortoq waited decades for its airport. Local businesses now face a second wait for the land, utilities and financing needed to turn access into growth.
GreenlandEnergy.com provides independent analysis of Greenland’s energy landscape, critical minerals development, and Arctic geopolitics. For corrections or feedback: press@greenlandenergy.com
