Bid for Saimaa Canal development suspended

The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency has decided to suspend tendering for the Saimaa Canal development project, said an official press release.

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," said 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.

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.

About 10 procurement suspension decisions are made annually at the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency.