BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- A memorandum of understanding on building a submarine tunnel approximately 90 kilometers under the Gulf of Finland to link Helsinki in Finland with Tallinn in Estonia was lately inked between three major Chinese state-owned companies and a Finnish company, Finest Bay Area Development Oy (FEBAY).
The idea for constructing a tunnel is to create a combined metropolitan area out of the capital city regions of Finland and Estonia.
The three Chinese companies, namely China Railway International Group (CRIG), its parent company China Railway Group (CREC), and China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), will be contractors of the project.
Chinese company Touchstone Capital Partners has agreed in principle to lend 15 billion euros to the project, including 5 billion euros of private equity and 10 billion euros of debt financing. Official statement said the entire tunnel budget is 15 billion euros, with the construction cost put at 12.5 billion euro.
FEBAY said the tunnel is scheduled to open to the rail traffic on Christmas Eve of 2024.
The parties will further negotiate details and final agreements on the project's design as well as construction.
(Edited by Bao Nuomin, baonuomin@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
