Background

In 2011 Meridiam, in a consortium with two major Finnish construction and road maintenance companies, YIT and Destia, as well as Ilmarinen, a leading Finnish pension fund, was awarded the E18 Motorway Koskenkylä–Kotka project by the Finnish Transport Agency (FTA). The project consists of the design, construction, renovation, financing, maintenance and operation of a 53-km stretch of the E18 motorway between Koskenkylä and Kotka, in southern Finland.

E18 is part of the Trans-European road network, on a vital corridor connecting Scandinavia to Russia via Helsinki. The reconstruction of the road to motorway standards, in order to improve connectivity and safety and to promote economic growth in the region, formed a central plank of Finland’s transport strategy.

Meridiam, the main shareholder of the Project Company, initially held 60% of the invested equity. Following the acquisition of 60% of the subordinated debt of Destia and of 100% of YIT’s junior funds in 2014 and the acquisition of YIT’s equity share in 2016, Meridiam now holds 70.05% of the equity and 76.08% of the subordinated debt.

Stage:

In Operation

ESG/SDG Key Facts

Environmental protection activities have been implemented across the lifecycle of the investment:
• Recycled timber was used in the construction of the motorway, recycled materials have been used inside foam glass as part of the embankments, and recycled glass has been used for noise barriers;
• Wildlife corridors were taken into consideration to minimise the Project’s impact on animals, and the ecological pathways have been secured by five “green bridges” and several underpasses;
• Water areas and rivers are continuously monitored (water turbidity was intensively monitored during and after construction and all measures have proved to be of good quality);
• Power savings obtained by installing intelligent lighting control, ground heating, and solar panel;

• Eight charging points for the electric vehicles installed rest area parking area;
• A traffic safety campaign has been implemented since 2015 in cooperation with local municipalities.

• The asset is exploiting the state owned road user communication platform to get feedback and development ideas directly
from the road users. Following a survey that was undertaken with the local municipalities with results available in Q4 2023,
the Project Company is investigating additional traffic safety initiatives and planning next steps for end of 2024.

The Project Company has decided to participate to Meridiam’s Asset Decarbonisation Initiative. This initiative aims to support
assets in their decarbonisation journey by providing effective and detailed decarbonisation plans with bottom-up trajectory by
asset and at the portfolio level. Results will be available end of 2024.

SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy)

To target power savings, the Project uses intelligent lighting control, LED technology, geothermal energy and solar panels in the technical buildings and the rest areas. The Project Company signed a contract with an EV charging Company which resulted in the construction of 8 EV charging stations at rest areas / cafeterias along the motorway in H2 2022. The share of renewable energy in total final energy consumption is 39%.

SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth)

The Project has updated its complaints management process and included them into meetings with subcontractors.