After a four-hour debate on 10 December, Helsinki’s city council voted 49–36 to approve the zoning plan for a two-kilometre underground tunnel linking West Harbour (Länsisatama) to the Länsiväylä motorway. The project—funded by the city-owned Port of Helsinki—carries a price tag of roughly €300 million and is slated to break ground in 2028.
The tunnel is a cornerstone of Helsinki’s wider port-rationalisation strategy, which will shift Tallink Silja’s Tallinn ferries from Katajanokka to Jätkäsaari and move all heavy truck traffic below ground. City planners say diverting thousands of lorry movements away from residential streets will cut congestion, noise and emissions in the fast-growing Jätkäsaari district, where new housing and offices are crowding port access roads.
For global-mobility teams, the decision signals that West Harbour will remain Finland’s main passenger-ferry gateway to Estonia for the next decade. Construction-phase disruptions will be significant: the port operator expects temporary lane closures and altered embarkation points that could add 15–20 minutes to check-in times during peak season. Companies moving staff or equipment between Helsinki and Tallinn should budget for longer transit windows and monitor future construction bulletins.
![Helsinki City Council green-lights €300 million West Harbour freight tunnel to unclog Jätkäsaari traffic]()
Meanwhile, VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) can help travellers and corporate mobility managers stay ahead of any documentation tweaks or schedule changes brought on by the harbour overhaul. The platform offers real-time visa guidance, ferry-route updates and expedited processing services, smoothing Helsinki–Tallinn commutes throughout the multi-year build.
On the strategic side, the tunnel is expected to facilitate a planned reduction—from three city-centre harbours to two—freeing up valuable waterfront real estate in Eteläsatama for commercial redevelopment. That could ultimately reshape hotel supply and short-term accommodation options for business travellers.
While the National Coalition Party and Social Democrats backed the measure, Green and Left Alliance councillors warned that the investment could crowd out public-transport upgrades. Critics also fear cost overruns; comparable deep-bore projects elsewhere in the Nordics have exceeded initial budgets by up to 40 percent. A final construction contract will be tendered in 2026 with strict cost-control clauses, city officials said.
The tunnel is a cornerstone of Helsinki’s wider port-rationalisation strategy, which will shift Tallink Silja’s Tallinn ferries from Katajanokka to Jätkäsaari and move all heavy truck traffic below ground. City planners say diverting thousands of lorry movements away from residential streets will cut congestion, noise and emissions in the fast-growing Jätkäsaari district, where new housing and offices are crowding port access roads.
For global-mobility teams, the decision signals that West Harbour will remain Finland’s main passenger-ferry gateway to Estonia for the next decade. Construction-phase disruptions will be significant: the port operator expects temporary lane closures and altered embarkation points that could add 15–20 minutes to check-in times during peak season. Companies moving staff or equipment between Helsinki and Tallinn should budget for longer transit windows and monitor future construction bulletins.
Meanwhile, VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) can help travellers and corporate mobility managers stay ahead of any documentation tweaks or schedule changes brought on by the harbour overhaul. The platform offers real-time visa guidance, ferry-route updates and expedited processing services, smoothing Helsinki–Tallinn commutes throughout the multi-year build.
On the strategic side, the tunnel is expected to facilitate a planned reduction—from three city-centre harbours to two—freeing up valuable waterfront real estate in Eteläsatama for commercial redevelopment. That could ultimately reshape hotel supply and short-term accommodation options for business travellers.
While the National Coalition Party and Social Democrats backed the measure, Green and Left Alliance councillors warned that the investment could crowd out public-transport upgrades. Critics also fear cost overruns; comparable deep-bore projects elsewhere in the Nordics have exceeded initial budgets by up to 40 percent. A final construction contract will be tendered in 2026 with strict cost-control clauses, city officials said.
