The project is expected to cost around £25 million, and involves building 30km of new pipeline. The new stretch of pipeline is scheduled to be completed and ready for use in September 2005.
The new gas pipeline will cross the river Kymijoki in a tunnel, which will be the first of its kind in the Finnish natural gas grid. Other options, such as use of a bridge, were explored during the feasibility study stage. However, the tunnel option was chosen for environmental reasons. Over a kilometre in length, the tunnel will be blasted under the river at a depth of around 50m below the water surface; it will be 5m in width and height. While design work is now under way, blasting work will commence in September and should be completed by next February. The plans allow for the construction of two pipelines, and the tunnel project will involve blasting some 25,000cum of rock.
Gasum currently operates 1000km of gas transmission pipeline, including over 70km of parallel pipeline westwards from the reception station at Imatra. There are also stretches of parallel pipeline in the Tampere and Helsinki regions.
Gasum also has plans to expand its gas grid to Western Finland, where gas will mainly be used to replace coal in the production of district heat and energy in the region. The extension project will be carried out if it is considered profitable, i.e. if there are enough users of gas and if the gas pipeline can be constructed cost-effectively. Currently it seems highly probable that natural gas will be used in the Turku economic zone by 2008.
The new gas pipeline will essentially run between Mantsala and Naantali, and will be 195km long. A maximum diameter of 28in is proposed, which will enable it to be extended to meet the needs of other areas in Western Finland and possibly Sweden. Gasum estimates the construction costs to be around £85 million.
