Qeqqata

Qeqqata Municipality
Qeqqata Kommunia
Municipality
Qeqqata municipality
Clockwise from top left: Davis Strait, Sisimiut, Kangerlussuaq Airport, Sermersut Island
Coat of arms of Qeqqata Municipality
Coat of arms
Location of the Qeqqata municipality within Greenland
Location of the Qeqqata municipality within Greenland
Coordinates (Qeqqata Commune): 66°30′N 48°00′W / 66.500°N 48.000°W / 66.500; -48.000
Sovereign state Kingdom of Denmark
Autonomous country Greenland
Municipality Qeqqata
Established1 January 2009
Municipal centerSisimiut
Government
 • MayorMalik Berthelsen (Siumut)
Area
 • Total115,500 km2 (44,595 sq mi)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total9,378
 • Density0.081/km2 (0.21/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-03
Calling code+299
ISO 3166 codeGL-QE
Websiteqeqqata.gl

Qeqqata (IPA: [qeqːata], The Center, Danish: Centrum) is a municipality in western Greenland. It was created on 1 January 2009. The municipality was named "Qeqqata" because it is in the central-western part of Greenland. Its population is 9,378 as of January 2020. The administrative center of the municipality is in Sisimiut (which used to be called Holsteinsborg).

Creation

Qeqqata was created on 1 January 2009. Kangerlussuaq and two older municipalities of western Greenland, Maniitsoq Municipality and Sisimiut Municipality, were combined to make Qeqqata. Kangerlussuaq used to be unincorporated, which means that it was not a part of any municipality.

Geography

Most of the settlements and trade in Qeqqata are along the coast.

Qeqqata borders Sermersooq municipality in the south and in the east. In the north, it borders the Qeqertalik municipality. The Davis Strait, which separates Greenland from Baffin Island, is to the west. It has an area of 115,500 km2 (44,594.8 sq mi). This makes it it the second-smallest municipality of Greenland, after Kujalleq.

Politics

Qeqqata's municipal council has 15 members. They are elected every four years.

Municipal council

Election Party Total
seats		 Turnout Elected
mayor
A D IA N S
2008 3 1 4 7 15 59.7%
2013 4 2 9 57.6% Hermann Berthelsen (S)
2017 3 3 1 8 61.1% Malik Berthelsen (S)
2021 2 3 4 6 63.8%
Data from Valg.gl

Administrative divisions

Maniitsoq area

Sisimiut area

Transport

There are no roads between settlements. This is the same in all of Greenland. There are three airports in Qeqqata: Kangerlussuaq, Maniitsoq and Sisimiut. Kangerlussuaq is the international hub for Greenland. Other settlements have boats that take people to them.

A simple road for terrain vehicles between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut was approved in June 2020. The first 21 km of the road, which connecting Kangerlussuaq with the Tasersuaq area, will be built in July 2020.

References

  1. ↑ Qeqqata Municipality Archived March 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (in Greenlandic)
  2. ↑ Statistics Greenland, Greenland in Figures 2010
  3. ↑ "Population by Localities". Statistical Greenland. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. ↑ Qeqqata Kommunia, municipal page[permanent dead link]
  5. ↑ "Population by Localities". Statistical Greenland. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  6. ↑ Qeqqata.gl "Kommunalbestyrelsen"
  7. ↑ Greenland’s first road project connecting settlements clears its last hurdle
  8. ↑ "First overland road project between Greenlandic towns". Archived from the original on 2022-08-18. Retrieved 2022-05-22.