Picture: Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd.

The implementation phase of the Koskela depot begins, Sweco part of alliance

3.12.2024

Metropolitan Area Transport Ltd, builder of the new depot in Koskela, has made the decision to proceed to the implementation phase of the project. The alliance agreement for the implementation phase was signed on 2.12.2024 in Helsinki.

Construction will begin in January 2025 with the demolition of the old depot building. The planned commissioning of the new Koskela depot is in 2029. The construction is carried out by an alliance group called Akseli. In addition to Metropolitan Area Transport, the alliance includes the main contractor Skanska and the design partners Sweco, Sipti Infra, Rejlers and Arkkitehtityöhuone APRT.

The alliance has been planning the depot’s functionalities and solutions in accordance with the objectives of the project strategy for over a year now as part of the development phase. The new depot in Koskela meets the needs of rapidly increasing tram traffic and the sustainable mobility of city residents. The scope of the new depot is 41,000 gross square metres. Depot includes storage facilities for 50 trams, 13 daily maintenance places, a lathe fence and storage and maintenance facilities.

“It is great to see our design and development work enter a new phase. The client has set very ambitious environmental goals for the Koskela depot as a starting point for our design. It has been inspiring to utilise our multidisciplinary expertise and the tools developed to achieve them. Together with the alliance, we have also developed completely new ways of working that benefit not only the project but also the entire industry,” says Ismo Tawast, Division Director, Buildings, Sweco Finland.

“Cooperation between the different parties of the alliance has been very successful and we can start the construction work from a good place. The smooth cooperation with the operator and owner has played a particularly important role in achieving the ambitious operational and technical goals of the depot. A comfortable and functional depot will be completed in Koskela, which will enable the developing tram traffic in the Helsinki metropolitan area and enliven the cityscape for the next hundred years to come,” says Lotta Koski-Lammi, Project Director at Metropolitan Area Transport.

The goal of the Koskela depot is to be a forerunner in environmental responsibility

The Koskela depot project has ambitious environmental targets in terms of carbon emissions, circular economy, energy solutions and environmental certification. Sustainable development is implemented by reducing carbon emissions during the implementation phase of the depot project, promoting the utilisation of recycled materials and demolition waste, improving the ecological functionality of the area and its surroundings, and using public money responsibly and transparently. The goal is to achieve the highest BREEAM Outstanding certification for the project. As part of the development phase of the project, Metropolitan Area Transport has developed a carbon management model and situational awareness tool together with Sweco and the alliance of the entire Koskela depot project for the first time in Finland. The carbon management model has already achieved significant emission reductions in the development phase by using a real-time situational awareness tool. The situational awareness tool compares carbon footprint calculations with actual results, which enables low-emission choices also in daily management.

For additional information, please contact:

Ismo Tawast, Division Director, Buildings, Sweco tel. 040 528 7432, ismo.tawast@sweco.fi
Tiina Varhee, media contact, Sweco tel. 040 731 1231 ext.tiina.varhee@sweco.fi