The inhabitants of Vogar (pop. 1,100) on Reykjanes peninsula, agreed to begin discussions with the Canadian aluminum company Alcan at a meeting yesterday regarding the construction of a smelter within their town limits.
Mayor of Vogar Róbert Ragnarsson opened the meeting by proposing that the local authorities should discuss a potential smelter on Keilisnes, a nearby spit of land, with the aluminum company, which already operates a smelter in Straumsvík inlet near Hafnarfjördur, Morgunbladid reports.
Ragnarsson argued in his speech that the smelter would create 300 to 400 jobs and the community’s annual income would increase by ISK 300 to 400 million (USD 4.8 to 6.4 million, EUR 3.6 to 4.8 million).
After the mayor had spoken about 30 people took the floor; some were completely against an aluminum smelter within their town limits and others were in favor of it.
Those against the smelter said they would like to keep the community as small as it is and preserve its natural beauty. They pointed out that there is no unemployment in Vogar at the moment and said they didn’t see the purpose in increasing the number of jobs, which would probably end up in the hands of foreign labor.
The vast majority of attendees, about 140 people, accepted the mayor’s proposal.
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