Opinion|Reader’s opinion
The affordability of a waterway requires that there be enough water and enough to transport. Both conditions are missing from the Päijänne sea canal.
Although Channels lost their profitability in Finland already in the 1930s, there are always new proposals. Paavo Manninen asked (HS Opinion 7.12.), where the preparation of the Päijänne sea canal is delayed. He suggested starting planning as a follow-up to the recently completed Kimola Canal.
Water transport is said to be the cheapest way to transport heavy goods. However, the affordability of a waterway requires that there be enough water and enough to transport. Both conditions are missing from the Päijänne sea canal.
When Manninen writes about an alternative route to the Saimaa canal, the Kymijoki and Mäntyharju canal project, which means it, received its decision when the Ministry of the Environment lifted the reservation in May 2008 from the Kymenlaakso provincial plan. The project was completely unprofitable from a socio-economic point of view due to the lack of transport. Due to the lack of water on the Mäntyharju route, the sewerage would have required pumping water and melting ice in winter. This would have required five thermal power plants. In addition, the canalization would have mobilized the contaminated bottom sediments of the Kymijoki River.
The Kimola canal is irrelevant, as its vessels have a maximum draft of 1.8 meters and an underpass height of 4.0 meters.
The billion-dollar rail projects in transport are also often socio-economically unprofitable in Finland, as traffic volumes remain too small. This applies in particular to the direct line projects planned from Helsinki in all directions and still to Tallinn.
The most sensible thing would be to put the existing lines and roads in order and to build additional lines on the existing lines with EU support, such as the recently completed Ostrobothnian line and the pending Riihimäki – Tampere and Espoo city centers. Fortunately, governments have been quite sensible in launching new rail and road projects.
Juhani Korpela
former Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Espoo
The reader’s opinions are the speeches written by HS’s readers, selected and delivered by HS’s editorial staff. You can leave a comment or read the principles of writing at www.hs.fi/kirjtamielipidekirjoitus/.
.
#Reader #opinion #Päijänne #sea #canal #profitable
