Swedish Fortifications Agency

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.[9] The main purpose with the reform was to create economic incentives for the authorities in the public sector to economise on premises.[10] In the defense sector, the real estate holdings were transferred from the Swedish Armed Forces — the user of the real estate — to the SFA; with the Swedish Armed Forces remaining in the estate as a tenant.[9]

Currently, the SFA acts as landlord for several Swedish government agencies in the defense sector.[11] The main tenant is the Swedish Armed Forces, which in 2007 was the source of over 90% of the SFA:s revenue.[11]

The SFA does not receive an allowance from the government budget.[4] Instead, it covers its expenses by charging rent for the real estate it leases.[4] In 2008, the agency's revenue was 3.0 billion SEK, and its net income 67 million SEK.[5] The rent is adjusted so that the net income — which goes into the state treasury — conforms to a predefined level of return on equity, as set by the Ministry of Finance.[12] To finance investments, the SFA borrows money from the National Debt Office (Riksgälden), which acts as the internal bank of the government.[13]

The SFA employed 689 people in 2008.[3] The majority of the employees work on a local level in real estate units linked to garrisons,[14] where employees work in areas such as project management, property development and maintenance services.[15] At the regional and national level, employees work in real estate purchasing and sales, defense facility development, and various management functions.[15] The SFA considers its core competencies to be security and protective technology.[16] The agency has stated that it aims to increase the amount of outsourcing, and as an experiment in 2006, it outsourced the property maintenance of two garrisons.[17]

Karlberg Palace in Solna, Stockholm — which houses the Military Academy Karlberg — is one of the properties managed by the SFA.[18]

In 2008, the book value of the government real estate stock managed by the SFA was 10.1 billion SEK,[19] largely consisting of depots, garrisons, training facilities, offices, and proving grounds.[20] In 2007, the total real estate stock included:[21]

• 8 000 buildings
• 3.3 million square meters of open space facilities
• 7 700 defense facilities
• 11 airfields
• 380 000 hectares of land, including:
• 100 000 hectares of forest

• Official website