NIB agrees to finance water infrastructure in Tampere, Finland

NIB has signed an uncommitted loan facility of EUR 150 million with Tampere Region Central Treatment Plant in Finland, to safeguard the treatment of sewage in the Pirkanmaa region far into the future.

The 30-year framework loan agreement gives Tampere Region Central Wastewater Treatment Plant the option to use NIB funding for the construction of a centralised wastewater treatment plant in the Sulkavuori bedrock in Tampere.

The purified effluent will pass through the bedrock tunnel from Sulkavuori to Vihilahti area and further along the discharge pipeline into Lake Pyhäjärvi.

The project will reduce the effluent load on Lake Pyhäjärvi and the water system downstream of it. The project will improve the sanitary condition of the Lake Pyhäjärvi and Lempäälä water system downstream of the Hiidenvuolle strait.

The wastewater treatment plant will be an active sludge plant operating on a parallel precipitating principle, where the wastewater is mechanically, chemically and biologically cleaned. The purified effluent will be disinfected by UV treatment.

The construction work at Sulkavuori has commenced, and the wastewater treatment plant is expected to begin operations 2024.

The existing wastewater treatment plants at Viinikkala and Rahola in Tampere as well as in Lempäälä will be closed. All three existing plants are located in the middle of residential area in valuable waterfront areas. Closing the plants will enable the vacated land areas in Tampere and Lempäälä to be redeveloped in a way considered to be a viable and sustainable utilisation of municipal resources.

The central wastewater treatment plant Tampereen Seudun Keskuspuhdistamo (Tampere Region Central Treatment Plant) is a joint venture between the municipalities of Kangasala, Lempäälä, Pirkkala, Tampere, Vesilahti and Ylöjärven Vesi Oy.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries. NIB has the highest possible credit rating, AAA/Aaa, with the leading rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

For further information, please contact
Mr Kari Jaukkuri, Senior Manager, Lending, at +358 10 618 0237, kari.jaukkuri@nib.int
Mr Arild Moen, Senior Communications Officer, at +358 10 618 0496, arild.moen@nib.int