The Finnish Transport Agency is prepared to invest roughly 100 million euros in the development of the road and rail network in Central Finland at the request of Metsä Group.
The manufacturer of paper and pulp products has announced its plans to open a new bio-product mill in Äänekoski in 2017 and is scheduled to take a final decision on the over one billion euro development project next spring.
In order to guarantee the smooth supply of raw materials to the mill, Metsä Group has demanded that two new intersections be constructed at national road 4 and that the railroad between Äänekoski and Jyväskylä be electrified. The intersections are each estimated to cost roughly 30 million euros and the development of the railroad one million euros per kilometre.
“The primary responsibility of the agency is to foster the competitiveness of industries. In Äänekoski, general plans for the intersections are already being drafted and preparations for the railroad development have already begun,” says Antti Vehviläinen, the director general at the Finnish Transport Agency.
Jyrki Iivonen – HS
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
© HELSINGIN SANOMAT
Photo: Juha Sorri / Lehtikuva
