World’s longest undersea tunnel risks delay

Bloomberg

A tunnel intended to connect Finland and Estonia faces a delay of up to seven years after Finnish policy makers picked a route opposed by the developer.
The Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council’s assembly voted to route the project under the capital and not Espoo, the adjacent city.
Finnish entrepreneur Peter Vesterbacka, formerly of Rovio Entertainment Oyj, plans to appeal the decision. But even that would add time, meaning that in a best-case scenario the project will be delayed by 1 1/2 years from the current deadline of December 2024.
Placing the “tunnel path via the center of Helsinki would be equivalent of building two subway lines on top of each other” which “doesn’t make economic sense,” Vesterbacka said. “This is an unfortunate decision that stems from an underlying ideological aversion to private enterprise in infrastructure business.”
The decision was part of a larger regional zoning plan, and in line with a prior ruling by the regional board in 2019. Routing the tunnel through Helsinki and its existing transport links would reduce commuting times, the regional council said.
The tunnel between the Finnish and Estonian capitals would span more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) and requires the construction of at least one artificial island. The plan, backed by a promise of about $17 billion from China’s Touchstone Capital Partners Ltd., hit its first snag last year when the Estonian government voiced its concerns, including the feasibility of its completion within the stated time line.
“We will have to discuss it with the investors, as a delay of up to seven years would be a significant change,” Vesterbacka said.