The ministry says it is now launching negotiations with municipalities and other publicly-owned entities as part of preparations to establish the Turku One Hour Train Project Company, which will oversee the Helsinki - Turku high-speed project, and the Suomirata Project Company, which will manage development of the new Riihimäki – Tampere line.
The Ministry of Finance is also participating in the talks, which are intended to provide a common “starting point” for topics such as alignment options and service levels.
The project companies will be responsible for planning and financing. Participation in this phase will not bind parties to the construction or financing of the projects.
In the start-up phase, the state will own 51% of the project companies, with the other shareholders owning the remaining 49%. The shareholders must commit to capitalising the companies in proportion to the size of their respective stakes.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications says the project companies will be open to public sector or publicly-owned bodies that are likely to benefit from the two projects. Companies with private sector shareholders will also be allowed to participate, provided that they are majority publicly-owned entities.
The state will provide the €38.3m in working capital for the Turku One Hour Train Project Company and €76.5m for the Suomirata Project Company. Total design costs for the two projects are estimated at €75m and €150m respectively.
The state’s share of the project companies will be controlled by the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
Suomirata has an estimated cost of €5.5bn and the line is forecast to carry around 6.5 million passengers a year. The €2.2bn Helsinki – Turku high-speed line is expected to carry around 1.6 million passengers annually.
