Celebrating project completion in Fljótsdalur
The completion of the Kárahnjúkar hydroelectric power project was celebrated at a ceremony at Fljótdalur station last Friday, October 2.
Guests from the region and from Reykjavík were present, alongside executives and employees from Landsvirkjun. Three ministers of industry were among those present: Katrín Júlíusdóttir, current Minister of Industry, Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, former Minister of Industry, as well as Friðrik Sophusson, who is also a former Minister of Industry and was in attendance on his last day of work as Chief Executive Officer of Landsvirkjun.
Project Manager Guðmundur Pétursson was master of the ceremonies, which included both speeches and music. Speeches were given by Friðrik Sophusson, Katrín Júlíusdóttir, Jóhann Þórhallsson, Vice-chairman of the Fljótsdalur district council, and Smári Geirsson, a councillor in Fjarðarbyggð. Pastor Lára Oddsdóttir remembered those who lost their lives during the project's construction phase, and Agnar Olsen, acting Chief Executive Officer of Landsvirkjun, delivered grants of one million krónur each to the Hérað and Jökull Rescue Teams. The male choir Drífandi á Héraði presented several songs, and impressed the guests with both their performance and their introduction.
Katrín Júlíusdóttir, Minister of Industry, used the opportunity to thank Friðrik Sophusson for devoted service to Landsvirkjun, as did Smári Geirsson and Jóhann Þórhallsson. The latter also presented Friðrik with a magnificent handmade guest book as a farewell gift from Fljótsdalshreppur. Also, the Verkís engineering firm presented an exquisite flower arrangement to Fljótsdalsstöð to mark the day.
The ceremony concluded with the unveiling in front of Fljótsdalur station by Guðmundur Pétursson, Project Manager, and Georg Þór Pálsson, Station Manager at Fljótsdalur, of a plaque with information on the construction project.
On the project's completion day, Landsvirkjun issued Orkubrunnur á Austurlandi: Snapshots from the History of the Kárahnjúka Hydroelectric Power Project, a 140-page richly illustrated booklet, which was distributed to homes in central Austurland and elsewhere. Here is an extract from the editorial introduction to Orkubrunnur:
A turning point has been reached and construction at the Kárahnjúkar hydroelectric power project is concluded. Landsvirkjun considers it appropriate to commemorate the occasion by gathering both written and photographic information about this important project. This is not a saga of political conflict but rather a summary of a project's history, different points of view and images of daily life.
Friðrik Sophusson, former Chief Executive Officer of Landsvirkjun, Agnar Olsen, acting Chief Executive Officer of Landsvirkjun, and Hörður Arnarson, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Landsvirkjun.
Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, former Minister of Industry, Katrín Júlíusdóttir, Minister of Industry and Friðrik Sophusson, former Chief Executive Officer of Landsvirkjun and former Minister of Industry.
Representatives of the Hérað and Jökull Rescue Teams receive grants from Agnar Olsen.