Finland is building a fence on its border with Russia, the country's Border Guard said.
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Finland's Parliament reached a consensus on the construction of the fence in 2022 and granted funding for the project. Work started in February this year.
The ongoing construction of the pilot version of the barrier fence in Pelkola, Imatra, is an important phase in the project’s progress.
The approximately 3 kilometres long pilot fence located nearby Imatra’s border crossing point is estimated to be complete in June 2023.
The landowners were consulted before the decision to build the fence was made. After the pilot project is finished, they will be paid a lump sum for the damage and inconvenience caused by the project.
The imposed land area in addition to removed plantlets and trees will be considered. The compensation also includes a default interest for the duration of the construction. The tax authorities have issued guidelines for the taxation of the lump sum.
Before the actual construction work was commenced, the area was cleared out of trees. The works and acquisition of equipment was put out to tender as public procurements in accordance with the Public Defence and Security Procurements Act.
"The level of costs achieved in the public tendering of the pilot project was considerably lower than the project’s budget," states Project Manager Ismo Kurki.
"However, no direct conclusions of the forthcoming level of costs can be made based on this, since several of the target areas that are built later on are located in areas that are considerably more challenging to reach.
"For instance, wetlands will need to be crossed and new electricity connections must be ordered for them."
Next, a pilot version of a pontoon road made of concrete aimed for crossing wetlands is planned to be carried out in the areas nearby Salla border crossing point in Lapland in August–November 2023. The aim of this is to find an optimal solution to crossing wetlands.
At the end of the year 2023, implementation of targets at the border crossing points and the areas nearby is commenced. The total length of these targets will be approximately 75 kilometres. Each border guard district has their own target areas. ■