The Mussalo Harbour of the Port of HaminaKotka is beginning to fill up. The port needs more space, and that is available in the western part of the port area, where the so-called D-area is being built.
A field of about 20 hectares, warehouses and in the first stage 220 metres of quays will be built in the new area. Later on, there are facilities to build approx. 500 metres of additional quays.
The depth of the fairway to the new part is the maximum draught on the Baltic Sea, 15.3 metres. Since the new area will face the open sea, a long and massive breakwater will also be needed to protect it.
The new area will be used by the Finnish exporting industries. The Port of HaminaKotka firmly believes that the exports by the Finnish wood-processing and paper industries will continue to grow in the future. To this end, the port should be one step ahead.
The extension is making progress towards the island of Vehkaluoto, but slowly. Kimmo Naski, CEO of Port of HaminaKotka Ltd, wants to calm the neighbourhood:
“Vehkaluoto is available for summer house use for a long time to come,” Kimmo Naski assures.
The construction of the D-area gained momentum this autumn, when one of the owners of the port, the City of Kotka, decided to grant a loan of 30 million euros to the investment. This became possible when Kotka sold its shares in electricity utility Kymenlaakson Sähkö Oy.
The cost of the extension of the port, including the earthwork, is over 30 million euros. Kimmo Naski regards the extension as a major addition to the operations of the port.
“We intend to create a modern centre of a new kind for export shipping, where the logistics processing efficiency represents the pinnacle.”
The D-field is the largest investment by the Port of HaminaKotka to date. The port company of Kotka and Hamina established in 2011 has kept well to its goal of making annual investments of only 2 to 3 million euros. One of the most important arguments for the merger of the formerly separate ports of Kotka and Hamina was that the merger avoids overlapping investments and competitive investments between the ports of the two neighbouring towns.
But now it is the time for major investments. According to Kimmo Naski, the need for major investments inevitably surfaces about every ten years.
Overall, the port is doing well. Both transport to and from Finland and transit volumes are growing, and Kimmo Naski expects that next year will also be good in terms of the transport volumes. The two major projects of the port - transport of gas pipeline components from Mussalo and export of large modules from Hamina to Kazakhstan - are also starting to show up in the traffic statistics.
In addition, Kimmo Naski states that there are several good ongoing negotiations about the location of port-related industries in the area.
“The really big things require a lot of space.”
