FinEst Bay tunnel project hits first stumbling block

The proposed FinEst Bay subsea tunnel project, which will link Helsinki, Finland, and Tallinn, Estonia, via an underwater train link beneath the Gulf of Finland has hit its first obstacle. 

Financing of €15-billion was agreed earlier this year for what would be the world's longest subsea rail tunnel. However the Estonian government has said it wants more details on the funding, business plan and the role that the Finnish government will play before giving the project the go-ahead.

“We need a clear understanding of where the money is coming from and in what amount,” said Estonia's Economy Minister Taavi Aas in an interview. “Where are the guarantees that it will be completed? The developer hasn’t been able to respond how it’s estimated the volume of people that will be travelling through there.”

The tunnel between the two capital cities would span over 100 km (62 miles) and would entail the construction of at least one artificial island. It would cut transport time between Helsinki and Tallinn from a two-hour ferry journey to a 30-minute train ride. The project was founded by Finnish entrepreneur Peter Vesterbacka, previously of Rovio Entertainment, the company behind the Angry Birds game.

The €15-billion funding, which was announced in March 2019, covers the entire cost of the project and would be provided by Chinese investment group Touchstone Capital Partners Ltd.

Last month, a memorandum of understanding was signed by FinEstBay Area Development and a consortium of three Chinese companies for the construction of the undersea tunnel.

A feasibility study commissioned last year found that a tunnel could be economically viable as a private-public partnership with EU aid covering 40% of the cost. Mr Aas has said, however, Mr Vesterbacka's plans and the results of that study are hard to square.

Last month, Estonia's Public Administration Minister Jaak Aab wrote to the developers of the FinEst tunnel project saying that current plans to have the tunnel operational by 2024 were not realistic. The 2018 study found that it would take 15 years to complete.

“We’re working on providing more detailed answers to the government so a decision can be taken as soon as possible," said Paul Kunnap, a lawyer representing the developer.

To date, the Finnish government has made no comment on the tunnel and it is not part of the present administration's policy programme, according to director-general of the Networks Department, at Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications, Sabina Lindstrom.

“We’ve had unofficial talks with our Estonian colleagues regarding their idea of a memorandum of understanding, but they haven’t yet sent an official request to sign one,” Ms Lindstrom said.

Estonia says that it expects top sign a memorandum with Finland later this month, but more details on the project are essential before that can happen.

“If the developer says today that they don’t want any guarantees from the governments, we can’t just let them start digging the tunnel,” said Taavi Aas. “It doesn’t work like that.”

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