Officials broke ground ceremonially this week on a new airport in the northern Norwegian town of Bodø, just within the Arctic circle.

The $720m airport located about a kilometre south of the one it is replacing is scheduled to enter service in 2029.

Businesses and people in the region lobbied the Norwegian government for years to fund a new airport to replace Mo i Rana in Nordland county because its runway is too small for jets to land.

It said it would if local businesses raised $17m toward its cost.

The new airport will have a 25,000 sq m of terminal and operational buildings and will be able to handle up to 2.3 million passengers a year.

The developer is Avinor, Norway’s state-owned airport operator.

As well as the airport, Avinor plans a new business district to cement Bodø’s role as an aviation city and hub for connecting north and south Norway.

The groundbreaking ceremony marks the beginning of site preparation. This will involve excavating some 3.5 million cubic metres of bedrock and earth, the equivalent of about 1,400 Olympic swimming pools. Full construction work will begin next year.

Abraham Foss, Avinor’s chief executive, commented: “At Avinor, we’re highly motivated to work together with our partners at the municipality of Bodø and in the Norwegian Armed Forces to build an airport that will become a hub for traffic into and out of the region. We’ve seen great enthusiasm throughout the city and among our employees.”