YIT Infra has been tasked with expanding the southern end of the West Harbour in a project worth €28 million.
The contract covers the large-scale construction of the quay and the field area, including the demolition of existing structures, dredging, filling, as well as the fabrication and installation of quay elements, technical systems, and surface infrastructure.
Some 120,000 cubic metres of soil will be dredged from the site and around 250,000 m3 of quarry will be used for construction purposes. The expansion will provide 12,000 m2 of loading space, more than a kilometre of lane space for vehicle traffic, and 330 metres of quay wall.
The work will be carried out mainly from the sea, so that passenger and cargo traffic can continue to operate as normally as possible throughout the construction period (to be completed by the end of 2027).
"Dredging will start in August [2025], and the rock filling phase will begin at the turn of August and September. The impact of the construction work on the environment will be carefully monitored throughout the project. The work has been planned so as not to cause any significant inconvenience to the surrounding area, residents, or passengers," underlined Ari Parviainen, Project Director at the Port of Helsinki.
The seaport's VP Passenger Services, Kaj Takolander, also commented, "The start of the expansion of the southern end is a much anticipated and important moment for us at the Port of Helsinki. In the coming years, major infrastructure works will be carried out in the West Harbour, and the work that is starting now is the first step in the overall renovation project. All traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn will be concentrated in the West Harbour in 2032, and the port's services will be upgraded to meet the future needs of passengers and cargo traffic."
He furthered, "It will be two football pitches' worth of field space that allows for modern, customer-oriented solutions such as automated traffic control. At the same time, we are preparing for the future needs of electric ship traffic. This will improve the reliability and competitiveness of the port, also in the future."
Aleksi Laine, SVP of YIT's Infra segment, also said, "This expansion is a vital part of the Port of Helsinki's development programme and will help future-proof its operations. We look forward to working closely with the Port of Helsinki and are committed to delivering the project safely and with high quality, while ensuring uninterrupted port operations."
The next phases of the West Harbour renovation project will include the setup of a new passenger terminal, plus drilling a harbour tunnel to take heavy traffic underground.
Photo: Port of Helsinki