Finland’s Port Authority of Kokkola is to construct an £8m all-weather terminal (AWT) – the first in Finland and Scandinavia and the third in Europe.
Vessels of up to 9,500 DWT will be able to access the terminal, which is scheduled for completion in autumn 2004, where both the cargo and cargo handlers will be under cover.
There will 24,000m2 of warehousing in the AWT itself with another 70,000m2 behind it. Access to the AWT is by both road and rail.
Like its predecessors in the Netherlands and Spain, the Kokkola AWT will handle a variety of products – but its speciality will be timber.
Marketing director Torbjorn Witting said: “The terminal is good for both customers and suppliers – there will be no delays through bad weather, no weather damage, and no need for extra protective packaging.
“There are also many advantages for the port. For instance, sailing schedules can be kept and those working on the ship are always inside the terminal and can carry on through the worst of the weather.”
Mr Witting said that in Finland more and more timber products are being given extra treatment by the sawmills, adding value to the product. He added: “This speciality timber deserves special treatment and this is something that Kokkola AWT gives to all its cargo.”
