Economy

The economy in the province of Groningen has grown substantially in recent years. In 2001 the province enjoyed the most economic growth in the whole of the Netherlands (2.6%). That gradually did away with Groningen’s economic deficit. On 1 January 2002 there were a total of 25,654 companies.

And the situation now? Groningen’s economy is performing just under the national average. Growth in turnover is a fraction of a percentage point behind. That can be attributed mainly to industry, the building sector and wholesale. The retail sector is on par with national developments; the service sector compares favourably. The biggest fall in turnover is found in the building sector: -2.7 per cent. The wholesale sector (-1.3 per cent), retail (-0.2 per cent) and industry (-0.2) also saw a fall in turnover. The only sector achieving growth in volume is the service sector (+0.8 per cent). 

Promising sectors

The most important branches of industry in the province of Groningen are the extraction and distribution of natural gas, starch, sugar, paper, basic chemistry, basic metal and shipbuilding. Most of the companies are in the small and medium-sized enterprises sector
But that image is slowly changing. Energy, IT, chemistry, life sciences and agrifood business are regarded as the North’s most promising sectors.
These sectors are very much on the rise: various partnerships have come about and there is no lack of pulling power. 

The Groningen Accord: 500 million for knowledge and innovation

The city of Groningen is setting out to develop into the centre for knowledge and innovation during the next five years. To meet that objective, 500 million euros is being invested in the city’s knowledge infrastructure over the next five years.
The Groningen Accord is an agreement between University of Groningen (RuG), Hanzehogeschool and the municipality of Groningen. It covers projects including a drastic renovation of the Zernike university complex to the north of the city. The site must take on the image of a true campus, including modern architecture and first rate public transport. Housing for students is also being given a powerful boost. Contributions are also being made to four innovation clusters that Groningen has nominated (energy, IT, life sciences and nanotechnology) and to the development and support of knowledge-intensive economic activity.
www.akkoordvangroningen.nl (in Dutch)

Economic news on Groningen www.gic.nl (in Dutch)

More facts and figures can be found at:
Noordelijke Ontwikkelings Maatschappij [‘Northern Development Company’]: www.nom.nl