In Prime Minister Juha Sipilä's government program announced in the spring, the condition of the state's highway network received special attention. Funds for road maintenance were increased, even though at the same time significant savings were sought in the state economy. New transport investments in the new government program had to be compromised accordingly. However, investments are needed to grow the Finnish economy. The state's role in infrastructure investments is central.
Although the public finances are difficult, bolder plans and more flexible experiments as financing solutions are needed for infrastructure investments. The lack of far-reaching plans and the state's rigid budget funding currently weaken Finland's attractiveness to outside investors compared to, for example, other Nordic countries. In them, big plans get funding and even more agilely. Recently, we read how the EU, for example, finances the tunnel connecting Denmark and Germany, i.e. Scandinavia and Central Europe, with half a billion.
Finland has similar strategic project blanks in its back pocket, such as the Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel, which would connect Finland to the rail network of continental Europe. At the same time, Helsinki-Vantaa airport traffic should be strengthened by connecting the main rail network to the airport and implementing a metro connection to the center of Helsinki. For a long time, however, the political tension was focused solely on the Pisararata. In addition to national solutions, the perspective should also be extended beyond Finland's borders. Infrastructure investments could contribute to the development of the entire Arctic region so that Finland becomes a global hub for logistics and telecommunications.
Both in the government program and in the report of the parliamentary working group that discussed the repair debt of the state highway network published at the end of last year, it is recommended to try new, more flexible solutions to finance infrastructure investments. This is necessary, because the state alone cannot implement large-scale plans, much more private money is needed. This leveraging, in which government investment also mobilizes private capital, is also aimed at at the European level as a whole.
Long-term plans, combined with flexible financing solutions for implementing infrastructure investments, would contribute to Finland's competitiveness in the future. In any case, infrastructure investments have to be made from time to time and the financing costs will not get any easier. It is not enough that we do the right things in Finland. They must also be done at the right time.
Sami Pakarinen
Chief Economist
Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries (CFCI)
The blog text was originally published in issue 3/15 of Rakennustekniakki magazine.
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