The Port of Helsinki together with the Port of Tallinn and AS Tallink Grupp obtained EUR 29.3 million EU funding within the 2014 CEF Transport Multi-Annual Calls for proposals for financing their infrastructure investments. The total cost of the planned investments is EUR 97.6 million.
The CEF (Connecting Europe Facility) program is a continuation to TEN-T, where the initial TWIN-PORT project was started. The follow-up project is called TWIN-PORT II. The development of the Helsinki-Tallinn maritime link as part of the TEN-T North Sea- Baltic core corridor has a vital importance as it connects the northern parts of Europe with southern TEN-T corridors.
Helsinki-Tallinn line is one of the busiest international routes in the world – it serves about 8 million passengers per year while trucks and trailers carry over 3 million tons of cargo per year. The flows of traffic and passengers between the two ports have been constantly growing for a decade already. Therefore the project is crucial for both cargo and passenger flows to ensure the smooth traffic between Helsinki and Tallinn.
At this stage the support to develop Helsinki-Tallinn maritime link on the period 2015-2018 is allocated as follows:
- Port of Helsinki will receive EUR 19.2 million to develop traffic and port facilities related to Helsinki-Tallinn line traffic, this includes the new fast flow terminal, ramp constructions for the vessels, gate services and street connections. The total investment of the Port of Helsinki is EUR 64 million.
- Port of Tallinn will receive EUR 5.3 million support to develop several activities in the Old City Harbour: sewage system in the port to collect waste waters from ships, extension of terminal D, reconstruction of access to terminal A and connecting the terminals A and D. The total investment of Port of Tallinn is EUR 17.6 million.
- AS Tallink Grupp will receive EUR 4.8 million support from EU to be allocated in the new environmentally friendly LNG vessel, which will be serving the Helsinki-Tallinn line starting from 2017. The ship will cost EUR 230 million and the investment under TWIN-PORT II is EUR 16.0 million.
“The West terminal building itself receiving support investment has a significant impact to the life and well-being of the passengers and traffic “smoothness” on the whole Helsinki-Tallinn maritime link”, Kimmo Mäki, CEO of the Port of Helsinki notes.
“The continuing effective cooperation with Port of Helsinki and Tallink helps us to develop the link as a whole. It also supports the Twin-City idea and the Rail Baltic project” says Ain Kaljurand, CEO of the Port of Tallinn.
“The new LNG powered fast ferry will bring swift environment friendly operations to the busy Tallinn-Helsinki route. We are happy to see a successful collaboration between public and private companies that is supported by the European Union”, Janek Stalmeister, Chairman of the Management Board, AS Tallink Grupp.
The TWIN-PORT II project will lead to maximum efficiency for this short sea line by optimizing port operations and infrastructure and will provide efficiency in a “door to door” approach, minimizing the costs and transit time, while increasing the cooperation and reliability of the transport service between Tallinn and Helsinki
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