EKE-Construction participates in a giant Data Center investment in Finland
Fortum, the Municipality of Kirkkonummi and EKE-Construction Ltd have been cooperating for a few years, creating conditions for obtaining a hyper scale data center investment in Kirkkonummi. The data centre area is significant in scale, both as an investment in Finland and as an industrial project. When completed, the emission-free waste heat generated by the Data Centers will cover about 40 per cent of the heat needs of about 250,000 district heating users in Espoo, Kauniainen and Kirkkonummi.
In recent years, EKE has developed the Kolabacken area in Kirkkonummi, which EKE has owned for a long time. The area, which has been zoned in cooperation with the municipality of Kirkkonummi and Fortum, is located at the intersection of Länsiväylä and Sundsbergintie. The new city plan, which allows for a large-scale data center, was approved last year. It is currently in process in the Administrative Court. Microsoft, the project’s investor and data centre operator, announced the project today with the Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä and Fortum.
The investment covers two data centres with their plots and infrastructure. Fortum’s electricity investment and heat recovery also play a large part on a national scale as part of Finland’s green transition.
The Kirkkonummi Kolabacken and the adjacent already planned Sundsberg Business Village also contain many other business plots, which are expected to be in high demand from other companies serving data centre operations and other sectors. Two enterprises have already initiated their future investments in the area.
“We have made plans to make the project possible in cooperation with the municipality of Kirkkonummi in a record short time. Not only will the investment be very significant nationwide, but it will also give Kirkkonummi a new business area of the future, a data centre with related activities. The data centre with related activities will be a significant employer for the municipality and will accelerate the area's development. In addition, a new recreational area of more than 26 hectares will be developed, which is more than a fifth of the total area of the city plan. This will give local residents an opportunity to enjoy interesting and locally valuable natural sites in the northern and north-western parts of the area,” emphasises Tea Ekengren-Saurén, Chairman of the Board of EKE-Construction Ltd.
EKE, as one of the project partners, is 100% committed to this globally unique and responsible project. We want to thank Fortum and Microsoft for their trust and the municipality of Kirkkonummi for their excellent cooperation in the zoning process.
More information:
Tea Ekengren-Saurén, Chairman of the Board, EKE-Construction Ltd.
p. 040 060 7670, tea.ekengren@eke.fi