The Swedish Fortifications Agency () is a
Swedish government agency under the
Ministry of Finance
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
, tasked with managing
government-owned defence-related buildings and land. The agency functions as the
landlord
A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...
for the
Swedish Armed Forces
The Swedish Armed Forces (, literally ''Defence Force'') are the Military, armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard (Swed ...
(), managing various types of
military installations.
The SFA is one of the largest holders of
real estate in Sweden.
Function in the government
The formation of the SFA in 1994 was part of the Swedish government effort to increase the cost-efficiency of government real estate usage through a system of
internal rent, which was meant to emulate
market-like conditions.
[ Swedish Agency for Public Management 2004, p. 5-6] The main purpose with the reform was to create economic incentives for the authorities in the public sector to economise on premises. In the defence sector, the real estate holdings were transferred from the
Swedish Armed Forces
The Swedish Armed Forces (, literally ''Defence Force'') are the Military, armed forces of the Kingdom of Sweden. It consists of four separate military branches, the Swedish Army, the Swedish Navy, the Swedish Air Force and the Home Guard (Swed ...
— the user of the real estate — to the SFA; with the Swedish Armed Forces remaining in the estate as a tenant.
Currently, the SFA acts as
landlord
A landlord is the owner of property such as a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate that is rented or leased to an individual or business, known as a tenant (also called a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). The term landlord appli ...
for several Swedish government agencies in the defence sector.
[ Swedish Fortifications Agency 2007, p. 12.] The main tenant is the Swedish Armed Forces, which in 2007 was the source of over 90% of the SFA:s
revenue
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business.
Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...
.
Economy
The SFA does not receive an allowance from the
government budget
A government budget is a projection of the government's revenues and expenditure for a particular period, often referred to as a financial or fiscal year, which may or may not correspond with the calendar year. Government revenues mostly incl ...
.
[ Ministry of Finance 2009, p. 5.] Instead, it covers its expenses by charging
rent for the real estate it leases.
In 2008, the agency's
revenue
In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business.
Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...
was 3.0 billion
SEK, and its
net income
In business and Accountancy, accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and Amortization (a ...
67 million SEK.
The rent is adjusted so that the net income — which goes into the state
treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
— conforms to a predefined level of
return on equity
The return on equity (ROE) is a measure of the profitability of a business in relation to its equity;
where:
: Jason Fernando (2023)"Return on Equity (ROE) Calculation and What It Means" Investopedia
Thus, ROE is equal to a fiscal year's net in ...
, as set by the
Ministry of Finance
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
. To finance
investment
Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
s, the SFA borrows money from the
National Debt Office (), which acts as the internal bank of the government.
Personnel
The SFA employed 689 people in 2008.
The majority of the employees work on a local level in real estate units linked to
garrison
A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters.
A garrison is usually in a city ...
s, where employees work in areas such as
project management
Project management is the process of supervising the work of a Project team, team to achieve all project goals within the given constraints. This information is usually described in project initiation documentation, project documentation, crea ...
,
property development and
maintenance services.
[ Swedish Fortifications Agency: ] At the regional and national level, employees work in real estate purchasing and sales, defence facility development, and various management functions.
The SFA considers its
core competencies
Core or cores may refer to:
Science and technology
* Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages
* Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource
* Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding
* Core (optical fiber), t ...
to be security and protective technology. The agency has stated that it aims to increase the amount of
outsourcing
Outsourcing is a business practice in which companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to another ...
, and as an experiment in 2006, it outsourced the property maintenance of two
garrison
A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters.
A garrison is usually in a city ...
s.
Real estate stock
In 2008, the
book value of the government real estate stock managed by the SFA was 10.1 billion
SEK, largely consisting of depots,
garrison
A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters.
A garrison is usually in a city ...
s, training facilities, offices, and
proving ground
A proving ground is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. The ...
s. In 2007, the total real estate stock included:
[ Swedish Fortifications Agency ]
* 8 000 buildings
* 3.3 million square meters of open space facilities
* 7 700 defence facilities
* 11 airfields
* 380 000
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s of land, including:
* 100 000
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), that is, square metres (), and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. ...
s of forest
Directors General
Directors General of the Swedish Fortifications Administration
*1948–1951: Nils Josef Einar Carlqvist
*1951–1963: Gunnar Christianson
*1963–1971: Birger Wallén
*1971–1983: Stig Swanstein
*1983–1989: Eric Pettersson
*1989–1994-06-30: Björn Körlof
Directors General of the Swedish Fortifications Agency
*1994-07-01 – 1999:
Torsten Engberg
*1999–2002:
Jane Cederqvist
*2003–2009: Sören Häggroth
*2009-03-01 – 2011-12-31: Lena Jönsson
*2012-01-01 – 2018: Urban Karlström
*2018-04-09 – 20xx: Maria Bredberg Pettersson
Notes
References
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External links
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{{authority control
Fortifications Agency
Fortifications Agency
Fortifications Agency
Public finance of Sweden
Military disbanding and disarmament