Cost benefit analysis of the improvement of the harbour of Melbu

Four alternatives of the improvement of the harbour of Melbu are evaluated in this project. Melbu is an important centre of the fishing industry in Vesterålen in Northern Norway. The costs of the alternatives are varying from 3.3 to 40 mill NOK. The two alternatives with the higher costs (alt. no. 3 and 4) had in addition to improving the depth in the harbour also changed the fairway by building a new molo in the harbour. This will reduce the movements of the waves in the harbour. The two alternatives with the lower costs (alt. no. 1 and 2) only improved the depth in the harbour. However, none of the four alternatives proved to be profitable under our assumptions, but the alternatives 2 and 3 came close. A sensitivity analysis of the assumptions showed that both of these two alternatives could prove to be profitable under other, less strict assumptions.