The City of Rauma and RMC have agreed to establish a property company and build a multipurpose construction hall at Rauma shipyard

The Rauma City Council has approved the establishment of a joint-stock property company which will build a multipurpose construction hall at Rauma shipyard. The shipyard lot is owned by the city. The construction of the hall, which is estimated to cost around EUR 25 million, will start later this year.

The construction project was sparked by RMC’s agreement with the Finnish Defence Forces, which entails enhancing existing facilities at the shipyard and building some more. Successful implementation of the Squadron 2020 project in Rauma requires repairs at the shipyard lot and new construction hall facilities. For security reasons, the Finnish Navy’s multipurpose corvettes will be entirely built indoors.

The new property company will be owned by the City of Rauma and Rauma Marine Constructions. The city will own around 80 per cent of the property company and make a capital investment of EUR 801,000, while RMC will own around 20 per cent and invest EUR 199,000.

RMC will sign a 12.5-year lease agreement for the hall and will later have the right to buy the building. The construction of the hall will be carried out according to a project management model that will also offer smaller local construction companies opportunities to participate.

“These arrangements will secure the execution of the Squadron 2020 project in Rauma and support Rauma’s competitiveness in implementing the Finnish Navy’s security of supply. The project is also important in terms of employment, competitiveness and vitality across the whole Rauma region,” says Johanna Luukkonen, Mayor of Rauma.

“This is a very important investment for RMC. A multipurpose construction hall will allow the Squadron 2020 project to enter its construction phase next year. The employment impact of the project will be around 3,600 person-years,” says Jyrki Heinimaa, CEO and President of RMC.

The construction hall can be used in various shipbuilding projects

At the moment, the construction hall is planned to be approximately 180 metres long, 40 metres wide and 30 metres high. The size is optimal for building government vessels, which are generally smaller than commercial vessels, but the plan is to use the hall for building car and passenger ferries as well.

“We will be able to practically finish the Navy vessels in the hall and move them out as such. Commercial car and passenger ferries may be up to 220 metres long, so they can’t be completely finished inside the hall. However, our goal is to use the multipurpose hall when we build blocks for TT-Line’s ferries,” Heinimaa says.

The City of Rauma has already done some ground levelling in preparation for building the hall. Construction will begin later this year.