Finland's first dry port Kouvola RRT ready

The Kouvola Rail and Road Terminal is now finished. The intermodal terminal's specialty are the kilometre-long loading tracks, which bring efficiency to the handling of freight trains, said a city corporation press release.

The project fell nearly six million euros under the original cost estimate. The terminal is located in the Kouvola Tehola logistics area at the junction of the main road and railway network.

The terminal was built by the city of Kouvola, and its operations are managed and developed further by Railgate Finland Ltd. The terminal was commissioned in January.

The construction project of Kouvola RRT was carried out under very exceptional circumstances. Nevertheless, good planning and precautions allowed the implementation of the project within the original schedule. The project was realized well below the original budget (original total estimate of €40 million). The implementation totalled at 34 million euros, of which the city of Kouvola accounted for approximately 23.6 million euros, the EU funding about 6.8 million euros, and the Finnish State about 3.5 million euros.

"Construction costs were reduced by about four million under the budget for the works the city is responsible for. Such a great result was achieved through cooperation, in which the project's construction consultant played a significant role. And the know-how of the city's technical professionals cannot be underestimated, especially in the field of sustainable construction. The successful solutions of green construction also brought tangible savings. Many thanks to all the builders of the terminal, as well", said Tero Valtonen, project manager of the RRT project.