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Tendering for the Saimaa Canal development project to be suspended

Published 9.11.2021 8.57

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency has decided to suspend tendering for the Saimaa Canal development project. However, the project will continue and the alliance procurement will be restarted as soon as possible. The suspension will give more time to resolve the technical details.

In the Saimaa Canal development project, the canal locks will be extended and the water level of the canal will be raised. The aim of the project is to secure the future operating and development conditions of freight traffic in the canal and the Lake Saimaa area. The project is carried out under an alliance model, in which different parties form a joint project organisation.

"During the procurement of the alliance contract, unexpected problems have arisen, and so we will now invest additional time into solving these. The technical and administrative challenges are connected to the operations in the Saimaa Canal leased area and related special practices. Russia's decision to stop customs processing of timber shipments from Russia at the Brusnitchnoe customs post on the Saimaa Canal is not behind the decision to suspend tendering. The project will continue as normal," says Project Manager Harri Liikanen of the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.

The postponement of the alliance project procurement will also affect the implementation schedule of the entire project. The aim is to restart project procurement as soon as possible. According to the original schedule, the project was to be completed in summer 2024. The estimated cost of the project is EUR 95 million, of which the extension of the locks accounts for EUR 90 million and the raising of the water level for EUR 5 million. Approximately ten procurement suspension decisions are made annually at the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.

For more information, please contact:

Harri Liikanen, Project Manager, Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, tel. +358 29 534 3007, [email protected]


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