OREANDA-NEWS. June 11, 2015. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a EUR 102m long-term loan to finance the construction of a 32 km motorway between Hamina and Vaalimaa in Finland. This motorway section will be built on a public-private-partnership (PPP) basis and as a result will be completed at a lower cost and one year ahead of schedule compared to a conventional procurement procedure.

    Jonathan Taylor, EIB Vice-President responsible for lending in Finland, stated, “The EIB funds, granted under a PPP financing scheme, will help to construct a key part of Finland’s most important international road connection, the E18 motorway, which also constitutes the core of the Scandinavian–Mediterranean Network Corridor. Supporting sustainable roads and motorways is one of the goals of the EU bank. Therefore, we are glad to be a partner in this project, as it will significantly improve the safety and operability of the road with high-quality environmentally-sustainable construction technologies and strong environmental consciousness playing a major role in project planning.”

    The E18 Hamina–Vaalimaa project comprises the construction of 32 km of new motorway and the related road improvements on the last section of the motorway from Turku through Helsinki to the eastern border. It also includes a highway tunnel, several bridges, noise dampening measures and a new truck waiting area in Vaalimaa. Furthermore, the existing pedestrian and cycle paths will be upgraded and more paths will be built. The construction work will start in June this year and is expected to be completed in 2018.

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