Safe and reliable water services for Helsinki

The Helsinki Metropolitan Area grows by 20,000 people every year. In the past decade, the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen, which make up the area, have experienced huge growth. Espoo’s population has grown by more than 40,000 people, Helsinki’s by 65,000 and Vantaa’s by almost 34,000 people. Such rapid urban development and population growth has put pressure on existing water and wastewater services, while new water infrastructure is needed to serve new areas of development.

Investing in the future

HSY is the regional authority that provides water and wastewater management services in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and is owned by all four cities. Through its Investment Plan 2021-2030 HSY is aiming to improve the operational efficiency and safety of its water and wastewater network by reducing water losses and curbing sewerage overflows to improve the quality of treated wastewater discharge.

A safe and reliable water supply and wastewater services are essential to human and environmental wellbeing and are central to sustainable development. Currently, 1.2 million inhabitants of the region benefit from HSY services, and through its Investment Plan, HSY aims to increase its operational area to serve new urban developments. This will mean another 155,000 new residents plus 2,000 people living in sparsely populated areas will benefit from HSY services. By 2025 HSY aims to have invested some €300 million to support the area’s expansion and renovation needs.

Support from the CEB

Part-financing from the CEB, in the form of a new public sector financing facility worth € 100 million, is helping to make HSY’s Investment Plan a reality. The loan agreement has been signed in May 2021.

“We are pleased to find a new partner to support the important work of HSY in providing and developing water services for the growing number of people in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area,” Pekka Hänninen, Acting Executive Director.

This is the Bank’s first direct involvement with an environmental project in Finland and will support key development and modernisation works, namely:

• the expansion of HSY’s area of operation to support new development, including extending and restructuring water and sewerage networks in all four cities
• the renovation of the water distribution and sewerage networks, reducing water losses and improving system efficiency and capacity.

“Investment needs in water services will continue to be high in the coming years as more and more renovation is needed on the existing water and waste water networks. Through these investments both operational efficiency and human and environmental wellbeing are improved in the area. CEB is a perfect partner for us in this important mission,” Hänninen commented.  

Fulfilling priorities and key lines of action

Environmental sustainability is a key line of action for the CEB in its 2020-2022 strategy. Through its projects the Bank aims to support a liveable society that promotes environmental sustainability, and that mitigates and adapts to climate change. Its operations also support two priorities: supporting member countries to achieve their SDG-related objectives, and tackling climate change. This project will support Finland, and the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, to get closer to achieving two of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG6 ‘Clean water and sanitation’, and SDG10 ‘Reduced inequalities’.

Putting this project in context

While this is the CEB’s first direct involvement in Finland’s environmental area, between 2003 and 2007 CEB financing was being used to fund projects in this sector through Finnish intermediary institution, Municipality Finance.

This project also complements other municipal infrastructure improvement projects that are already underway in the Helsinki Metropolitan area which are part-financed by the CEB. Between 2009 and 2020 the Bank provided financing totalling €490 million.

“I am proud to have been able to develop and establish a relationship with a new borrower for the CEB. HSY plays an important role in Finland and is a reputable institution in the field of environment,” says Diana Bertjē, Country Manager.

“With efforts deployed, CEB’s Finnish portfolio has been growing in the past years. I see a clear synergy of the new project with other recent CEB-financed operations in Helsinki Metropolitan area (Vantaa, Espoo, Helsinki) addressing diverse local level municipal investment priorities, reducing social inequalities and imbalances in the sectors of education, health and community services.”