Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2019 | Page 20

Silk Road Relaunch
One dimension of CaaS is the Nordic Silk-
way CaaS project, an ecosystem which
reaches all the way to China. Vediafi, the
first CaaS services operator is teaming up
with Trafi and regional development com-
pany Kouvola Innovation (Kinno) to push
the “new Silk Road” – running from Finnish
Southeast city of Kouvola to Chinese city of
Xi’an – into the next level.
Project Manager Matti Lankinen from
Vediafi explains that the idea is to create a
digital marketplace where transport can flow
more efficiently, quickly and economically.
“The cooperation with Kouvola Inno-
vation opens up new logistical opportunities
for rail services between Kouvola and Xi’an
and for increased trade between Europe and
Asia via Finnish land, air and sea routes,”
says Lankinen.
Ecosystem Emerging
Juha Kenraali notes that the Corridor as a
Service ecosystem enables the utilization
of logistics chain data flows and improve-
ments to goods logistics through a joint eco-
system that covers both the public and pri-
vate sector.
20 Nordicum
“The ecosystem also offers the oppor-
tunity for developing current and new busi-
ness activities, improving goods transport,
and networking within a shared ecosystem,”
says Kenraali.
Specialist Mika Lammi from Kouvola
Innovation adds that Kinno brings to the pro-
ject a service through which goods traveling
between Kouvola and Xi’an can be trans-
ported by rail utilizing digital services.
“China’s growth centers offer abun-
dant opportunities for Finnish trade and
industry,” Lammi believes.
No Guts, No Glory
Digitalization and ecosystems are very much
part of the Futures report of the Ministry of
Transport and Communications, published
in June 2018. Harri Pursiainen, Permanent
Secretary of the Ministry, comments that
future transport need “an even bolder vision”
in which Finland will be a global hub for the
mobility of people, goods and data.
The Futures review assesses the future
prospects and action points in the transport and
communications sectors on the basis of four
themes: services, data, climate and networks.
The report finds that restoration of the
current transport network – and construction
of new routes that would serve the entire
Europe – will call for significant additional
investments. The Ministry and Transport
Agency calculate the growth-boosting trans-
port costs to amount as much as EUR 60 bil-
lion during the next ten years.
However, while the annual financing
of transport investments in the state budget
has been, on average, around EUR 450 mil-
lion, the implementation of future transport
projects using the current spending limits
would take more than 130 years.
Challenges Remain
According to the report, the repair debt of the
transport network is worth EUR 2.5 billion
and it must be reduced. The level of appro-
priations for the basic transport infrastruc-
ture has a direct influence on the amount of
the repair debt.
The requirement for emission reduc-
tions in transport is also very substantial.
Finland is committed to halving the 2005
level of transport emissions by 2030. The
country’s aim is that transport will be car-
bon-free by 2045. l
Sami J. Anteroinen