Port of Kokkola invests in further growth
AS THE PORT OF KOKKOLA heads into its 195th year of existence in 2020, the third largest portin Finland buzzes with investment and plans for the future. A major long-time project, now carried out at the port, is the deepening of its dock and fairway from 13 to 14 metres. Funded by both the port itself as well as the Finnish government, the 63-million-euro deepening project allows for more efficient and environmentally friendly shipping, as ships in deeper waters can take on more cargo.
“A metre doesn’t sound like much, but the difference in cargo weight is equivalent to 10,000 cars per ship. This means cheaper and more environmentally friendly cargo transports forour customers, as no more energy is needed for transporting fully loaded ships than partly loaded ones”, explains Torbjörn Witting, CEO of the Port of Kokkola.
AS PART OF the deepening project, the Port of Kokkola commits to taking care of the dredged landmasses. Some of it can be used to build new areas in the port – such as a unique circular railway, which is to facilitate easier offand on-loading of trains coming into the port – and some of it is of lesser value, but still needs to be taken care of.
“One can argue, that this is the largest recycling project in Finland”, notes Witting. In addition to the deepened port and new development areas, a third Panamax quay is in the plans for 2021, which will allow for even more cargo giants to dock in Kokkola.
THE PORT OF KOKKOLA is in the immediate proximity of Kokkola Industrial Park, KIP, which is Northern Europe’s largest industry cluster of inorganic chemistry and employs over 2,250 people. Railway traffic to the port is fierce, with over 5-6 million tonnes being transported annually. VR Transpoint uses the port for a great part of its rail transport in Finland, making it the largest transit port in the country. Now investments are made in the railway infrastructure between the port and the main station in Kokkola.
“The governmental investments in railway traffic serve our port and also justify the current investment in a deepened fairway and dock. We are happy to see that large investments are made to support our strong growth”, says Witting.
