The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a loan agreement with Finnish airport operator Finavia Corporation to support the expansion of Helsinki Airport.
The EIB financing, worth €150m, will support the delivery of the fourth phase of the Helsinki Airport expansion; which is projected to increase the airport’s annual capacity to around 30 million passengers. In addition to providing an array of jobs during its construction period, the expansion is expected to create around 5,000 permanent jobs on its completion.
Kimmo Mäki, CEO of Finavia, said: “As the number one networked hub in the Nordic region, our aim is to offer passengers good and smooth connections worldwide. We want to stand out by providing an exceptionally good customer experience and sustainable operations at Helsinki Airport.”
The Helsinki Airport expansion will see Terminal 2 of the airport extended to include additional arrivals and departures halls; while new gates will be installed and airport connections to local public transport and taxi services will be improved. New parking facilities will be developed, providing an additional 1,800 parking spaces; and the airport’s baggage handling and passport control facilities will be expanded.
EIB Vice President and former Prime Minister of Finland Alexander Stubb said: “HEL never freezes and neither does its traffic. Helsinki Airport probably has some of the most extreme conditions of any major international airport and it’s nothing short of amazing how Finavia deals with this, while smoothly transiting millions of passengers per year. The EIB’s backing will allow the airport to cope with the expected increase in passenger numbers in a rational and sustainable way. We’re very proud to support this.”
Finavia, which is owned by the Finnish government, is the public body responsible for developing and maintaining Finland’s 21 airports. 25 million passengers used airports overseen by Finavia in 2018, 20.8 million of whom used Helsinki Airport.
