Construction on the €300m E18 Muurla–Lohja project commenced at Financial Close in October 2005. Procurement started in March 2004 and followed the life-cycle model, a Finnish application of PPP.

Implementation of this project will ensure a consistent standard along the length of Finland’s most important international transport route, which also serves the fastest developing areas of Finland; will prevent accidents and loss of life and will reduce noise impact.

The old E18 (Highway 1) from Muurla to Lohjanharju was a two-lane road where passenger safety and congestion needed addressing urgently.

The road is narrow, curved and hilly, and has numerous hazardous junctions. With increased traffic these problems were expected to worsen. The new road is dual two-lane motorway with hard shoulders.

Tieyhtio Ykkostie Oy’s shareholders are John Laing, Skanska Infrastructure Development from Sweden and Lemminkäinen Group from Finland.  John Laing will invest approximately £8m in the concession company, representing a 41% interest.

Owing to the terrain, construction of the new motorway will comprise seven road tunnels (aggregate length 5.1 km), bored through rock.

The use of tunnels avoids construction of large open cuttings and will create noise-free green belts over the road.

The maintenance agreement is 21 years from the date the road is opened to traffic, which is expected to be in 2008. The payment mechanism will be availability-based with additional bonus payments achievable if safety levels are below the national average.
Skanska Financial Services and John Laing worked together as financial advisors to the consortium. In addition to being an equity investor, John Laing brings specialist financial structuring and management skills to the project and, as one of the active managers of the project company will also overview implementation of design and construction.

The E18 Muurla–Lohja is John Laing’s second major project in Finland, the first being the E4 ‘Nelostie’ between Helsinki and Lahti.

More information about the project is available at http://www.ykkostie.net/.