It is easy to imagine Finland being somewhere at the end of the road; however, a realistic picture places it more in the middle of things. Looking carefully at a globe, as airlines do, shows to most people’s astonishment that when flying from Germany, or New York, to Japan or China, the route over Finland is the shortest. It’s no wonder that many airlines have connections at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.

Another significant logistical fact is that Finnish railways use the same rail gauge as Russia. Transport to the east, as far as the Pacific Ocean, is cheaper and easier from Finland than from any other EU country. Finland’s railway network, and particularly its link with Russia and the other CIS countries, is a good reason why a logistic centre in the Helsinki Region makes sense. Using this Trans-Siberian route, Asian and European shippers can save three weeks compared with sea transport, and deliveries to and from China can take up to six weeks less.

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is, a vital modern-day hub. Together with the Port of Helsinki it supports a wide variety of businesses, domestic and international.

The Port of Helsinki handles one third of total value of Finnish foreign trade – almost 12 million tonnes. A new harbour, under construction to the east of Helsinki, will double current handling capacity when completed in 2008.

Centre of Expertise for Logistics

Centre of Expertise for Logistics, implemented by Culminatum Ltd, co-operates with companies utilising the logistics services, logistics service providers, public sector, research institutes, universities and polytechnics. Its aim is to design and initiate R&D projects in the logistics sector, and promote knowhow in logistics between hi-tech companies, universities, polytechnics and other training centres by utilising the latest research results.

Easy connections
Ideopolis 2004 (pdf, 54 pages): Logistics and Helsinki Region

For further information
Centre of Expertise for Logistics
Port of Helsinki 
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport