Port Development Programme

Centralising Tallinn traffic to the West Harbour and Stockholm traffic to Katajanokka will ensure that the business of the Port of Helsinki and its customers can continue to grow in the decades to come. At the same time, the City of Helsinki will have new opportunities to develop the South Harbour area.

Centralising the port operations and the related arrangements is a joint project between the City of Helsinki and the Port of Helsinki. The changes in the South Harbour will expand the open urban area by the waterfront. On the other hand, the changes will ensure that the current, efficient and regular passenger and cargo traffic will remain possible also in the future and that ship passengers can continue to arrive in the centre of Helsinki.

The operating model combining passenger and cargo traffic will provide Finland with frequent, cost-effective and environmentally friendly connections abroad.

Today, passenger traffic to and from Tallinn takes place at Katajanokka and the West Harbour and Stockholm traffic at South Harbour and Katajanokka.

The development programme will centralise Tallinn traffic to the West Harbour and Stockholm traffic to Katajanokka and reduce the size of the harbour area in the South Harbour, thus allowing the City of Helsinki to develop the area further. It includes a plan for a harbour tunnel connecting the West Harbour and Länsiväylä.

The goal of the development program is to enable growth

The port development programme establishes the land use and traffic prerequisites for the rearrangement of harbour operations and presents the investments needed for their implementation. The environmental perspectives and the Port’s sustainability goals direct the implementation of the development programme’s investments as well as the use of the areas.

The renewals to be implemented in the different harbours will come together to form a cohesive project. The renewals in one part of the port will affect the arrangements in other parts, and the project in its entirety cannot be separated into different sections.

The programme’s purpose is to secure growth for both the Port’s and its customers’ business operations, as well as their development prerequisites in the centre of Helsinki and in Vuosaari Harbour.

The connection between Helsinki and Tallinn is a vitality and competitiveness factor for Finnish business.

Major investments in the West Harbour

Based on the development programme, all Tallinn traffic will be managed from the West Harbour. This means that all three shipping companies operating between Helsinki and Tallinn will be working in West Harbour.

The largest port infrastructure improvement project will be the harbour tunnel. Its main objective is to to create efficient and disruption-free traffic connection for the West Harbour. The harbour tunnel will direct vehicles traffic in Jätkäsaari underground, away from street level. Completing the tunnel is one of the most fundamental factors of the whole development programme.

Also the West Terminal 1 (T1) has to be renewed to centralise all Tallinn traffic to the West Harbour. At the same time the harbour’s quay area will be expanded towards the sea. The quay structure in the northern part of the West Harbour will also be renovated.

Stockholm traffic to be centralised to Katajanokka

The current ship traffic to Stockholm will be moved to Katajanokka from the South Harbour. Some international cruise traffic as well as an option for potential high-speed vessel traffic will still remain in the South Harbour, however.

In Katajanokka Harbour, the terminal will be renewed to allow smooth management of all ship traffic between Helsinki and Stockholm.

As a result of this centralisation, the traffic in Katajanokka will decreas, as most of the vehicle traffic moves to the West Harbour.

The development programme will help Helsinki to maintains its position as the busiest passenger harbour in Finland and as the main port for Finnish import and export operations.