Wärtsilä Starts Building Hamina LNG Terminal

Finnish technology group Wärtsilä has secured all necessary building permits and financial backing for the LNG terminal to be built at the Finnish Port of Hamina.

Debt financing for the project has been secured with Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken and Finnvera, the Finnish state-owned financing company. The total investment is worth approximately EUR 100 million (USD 118 million), Wärtsilä said.

In addition to supplying the engineering, procurement, and construction of the terminal, Wärtsilä is also joining the project through a minority investment by WDFS (Wärtsilä Development and Financial Services) in Hamina LNG Oy. The main shareholders are Hamina Energy Ltd and Estonian energy company Alexela.

The company added that the building permit for the LNG terminal has also been secured: in the first stage, a 30,000 m3 LNG storage tank will be built. Facilities are also being prepared for a second 20,000 m3 storage tank to be added at a later date.

The earthwork has been completed on schedule, and the construction work has already commenced. The LNG terminal is planned to become fully operational in 2020.

“The new Hamina LNG terminal will be an important addition to the gas infrastructure as it will not only supply businesses and the shipping sector, but will also feed into Hamina Energy’s distribution gas grid and can be connected to Finland’s gas grid,” said Markku Tommiska, CEO, Hamina Energy Ltd.

“The Hamina project is the third LNG terminal in Finland that Wärtsilä has been contracted to build, the others being the Manga Tornio terminal and the Raahe terminal. This demonstrates the strengths the company has in project development and management,” commented Alexandre Eykerman, Vice President, LNG Solutions, Wärtsilä Energy Solutions.