Finland. Kiinteistö Oy Triplaparkki

The loan has been provided for the construction of Tripla Mall, a business and residential centre in Helsinki. Together with a loan provided to Kiinteistö Oy Tripla Mall for the same purpose, NIB’s total financing for the project amounts to EUR 100 million.

The Tripla project includes a new shopping mall as well as office towers combined with two hotels and residential buildings adjacent to Pasila railway station, which will also be renovated. The City of Helsinki is investing EUR 200 million and the Finnish state EUR 100 million in upgrading rail, tram and road connections and developing the municipal infrastructure in the area. The construction of the shopping mall is planned to be completed in September 2019.

Tripla Mall is applying for LEED Platinum certification. Tripla Mall will also meet the near-zero energy performance of the European Commission’s directive for buildings and the requirements of the Equator Principles.

Tripla Mall is included in the project pipeline of the European Fund for Strategic Investments established for the implementation of the Investment Plan for Europe. The cost of the Tripla Mall project totals approximately EUR 600 million. The debt financing package includes loans from the European Investment Bank and NIB, as well as Danske Bank and Handelsbanken.

Competitiveness:

The project is a significant investment in the development of residential services in the Helsinki urban area. Helsinki is one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe, with many large urban development projects underway.

Environment:

The Tripla mall is to be certified LEED Platinum, the highest possible certification class. The LEED certification system evaluates the sustainability of the project within the fields of location, transportation, site sustainability, water efficiency and energy performance, emissions into the air, building materials, resources, innovation and regional priority. Tripla is expected to enhance climate impact measures by having a central location with short travel distances for a large number of people, good public transport access, and strong support for emission-free transportation (large premises for parking bicycles, the possibility to charge electric cars, etc.). Tripla will also have state-of-the-art waste management and recycling equipment and processes (e.g. a vacuum waste collection system).

Direct environmental issues in relation to the project include land issues and the use of energy. Extensive soil investigations have been conducted in the area, which has previously served as a railway yard; and the remediation of contaminated soil (approximately 40,000 tonnes) has been carried out in connection with the construction work. The responsibility for post-remedial monitoring lies with the City of Helsinki.