YIT and Meridiam, through Tieyhtiö Vaalimaa Oy, have signed a service agreement with the Finnish Transport Agency regarding the implementation of the Hamina-Vaalimaa section of the E18  highway in Finland.

The construction work will start immediately and is expected to be completed in 2018.

The E18 Hamina-Vaalimaa project comprises approximately 32 km of new motorway construction and other related road alterations. The project will include a 250-metre-long highway tunnel, 37 bridges and 7 km of noise dampening. Also included in the construction is a new waiting area for truck traffic in Vaalimaa. Additionally, the existing pedestrian and bicycle lanes will be improved and built parallel to the old highway.

The project is a public private partnership (PPP) based on internationally accepted precedents, in which the Finnish Transport Agency will procure the design, construction, maintenance and financing of the motorway from the project company, Tieyhtiö Vaalimaa Oy. After completion of the construction work, the project company will be responsible for the maintenance of the motorway until 2034.

The total value of the service agreement including financing is €378 million (US$427.2 million), of which the value of the construction and maintenance agreements worth approximately €260 million (US$293.8 million) will be recorded in YIT's order backlog in June. The European Investment Bank, Nordic Investment Bank and Pohjola Bank Plc are financing the project.

YIT has been participating successfully in previous E18 motorway construction projects. Tieyhtiö Valtatie 7 Oy, owned by YIT, Destia, Meridiam and Ilmarinen, carried out the E18 Koskenkylä-Kotka road section and it was completed ahead of schedule in autumn 2014. In addition, the consortium comprised of YIT and Kesälahden Maansiirto successfully implemented the E18 Hamina by-pass, opened for use in December 2014.