Construction Project Management and Consulting Engineering - HRV Engineering

Iceland is a unique and beautiful country located just south of the arctic circle. Despite its northerly location, it has a temperate climate which is moderated by the North Atlantic current. Iceland is blessed with a bounty of natural resources, principally fish, hydropower, geothermal power and diatomite. The extensive use of electricity produced from clean, renewable hydropower and geothermal power plants, coupled with the use of hot water to heat almost all the homes in the country means that Iceland has a very little pollution. In fact, it is one of the least polluted cities in Europe.

Iceland was settled by Norwegian and Celtic immigrants during the 9th and 10th centuries A.D. It boasts the world's oldest functioning legislative assembly, the Althing, established in 930 A.D. After 300 years of independence, Iceland was ruled by Norway and then Denmark until it was granted limited home rule in 1874 and then complete independence in 1944.

The capital of Iceland is Reykjavik and it is the northernmost national capital in the world. Iceland´s population is quite small, only 300,000 (June 2005) the majority of which lives in the capital. The language of Iceland is Icelandic and it has changed little over the centuries. In fact, Icelanders can still read the original Icelandic Sagas written in the 9th and 10th century.   But, most Icelanders speak English as well as other languages like Danish, German, Swedish and Norwegian.

Icelandic has characters in its alphabet that may seem quite foreign to some. Here's a quick guide to help your pronunciation:
Ð (capitalized)/ ð (lower case): called "eth" and pronounced like the "th" in there.
Æ/æ: called, "aye" and pronounced like the "i" in Iceland.
Ö, ö: pronounced like the "u" in further or murky.
Þ/þ: called "thodn" and pronounced like the "th" in thin.
Á/á: pronounced like the "ou" in ouch.
É/é: is like a normal "e," but with a subtle "y" before it. For instance, the Icelandic word for compnay is, "félag" and is pronouced like "fyelag."
Í/í: pronounced like the "ee" in eat.
Ó/ó: pronounced like the "o" in open.
Ú/ú: pronounced like the "o" in move.

Iceland's Scandinavian-type economy is basically capitalistic, yet with an extensive welfare system, low unemployment and an excellent distribution of income. The currency of Iceland is the kronur. The people of Iceland enjoy a very high standard of living, a very high literacy rate and a long life expectancy.

Due to it's abundant hydropower and geothermal power resources, Iceland has become a hot-bed of primary aluminum production or aluminum smelters. Iceland currently has two aluminum reduction plants in operation: Norðurál (Nordic Aluminum),  which is in the midst of a major expansion from 90,000 tpy to 220,000 tpy. This plant is located approximately 50 km north of Reykjavik. And, ÍSAL (Alcan), a 160,000 tpy plant located south of Reykjavik in Straumsvik. A third plant is being built in Reyðarfjörður, located on the east coast of the country, the 320,000 tpy Alcoa Fjarðaál plant. It is to be powered by the 750 MW Karanjhukar hydroelectric power plant, both are slated to go online in 2007. These are currently some of the largest construction projects in Europe.

Besides aluminum smelting, Iceland's other main industries are fish processing, ferrosilicon production and tourism. More and more people are learning about this country of the north and discovering for themselves its beautiful landscapes and unspoiled nature as well as its sophisticated and lively capital.