HELSINKI (Reuters) - A train tunnel linking Helsinki with Estonia’s capital Tallinn has got a provisional 15 billion euros ($17 billion) in financing from China’s Touchstone Capital Partners, the latest infrastructure investment in Beijing’s Belt and Road plan.
FinEst Bay Area Development said on Friday it had signed a memorandum of understanding providing a third of the funding in private equity, which will give Touchstone a minority stake in the planned 100 km (60-mile) tunnel, and two-thirds in debt.
Beijing’s Belt and Road initiative seeks to link China by sea and land with southeast and central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Africa, through a network along the lines of the old Silk Road as well as an Arctic route.
Finland and Estonia have for years considered linking their capitals, which are divided by the Gulf of Finland and the subsea tunnel would cut the travel time to around 20 minutes from the two-hour ferry ride used by tens of thousands of Estonians who commute weekly to the Helsinki area.
“The long term vision for Finland includes that we can get through the tunnel to Tallinn,” Finland’s Prime Minister Juha Sipila said this week during a visit to Estonia, which is a popular tourist destination for Finns.
FinEst Bay Area, which had earlier estimated the total cost of the tunnel at 15-20 billion euros, said financial details will be thrashed out with Touchstone over the next six months.
The firm raised the first external funding of 100 million euros from Dubai-based construction company ARJ Holding in December and is seeking European investors.
“Now, the financing is sorted and we can move ahead,” project leader Peter Vesterbacka, a former executive at the Angry Birds game maker Rovio, told Reuters.
A feasibility study commissioned by the governments of Finland and Estonia and published in 2017 said the planned tunnel could open in 2040 but Vesterbacka reiterated that it would be built by the end of 2024.
The project is yet to secure backing from the two governments and the European Union.
Earlier this week Estonia’s prime minister Juri Ratas stressed the need for security reviews of the project, along with the environmental studies which have already been started by the relevant authorities.
Am I supposed to care? If Whites didn't act like faggots we wouldn't have Chinese building up. You can only blame yourselves.
Dominic Rodriguez
Is it really all inevitable at this point?
Ayden Wood
Will it be wide enough for Russian tanks?
Brayden Morgan
What's the problem, mongol?
Isaiah Torres
The chinese have so much money it's fucking insane. They are literally investing tens of billions in hundreds of countries across earth. Now imagine if US didn't spend $750 billion on their military when both their influence and their own country is imploding. They could have smacked China in the face.
Grayson Walker
So very fake news.
This Peter became famous with Angry Birds. He became Elon Musk of Finland. True commie posterboy with thousands of ideas. Every commie media give him attention.
Backthen he called loudly 100000 chinese students to Finland universities. There is hardly 50000 university students in Finland now. So plan was huge.
Now he's favorite project is this traintunnel. So far nothing else than commie media attention. No-one knows why he likes this so much. Maybe there were some clauses Angry Bird company (Rovio) funding agreement. Most likely that.
Ryan Wright
>CHINA IS COLONIZING FINLAND!!! Finland is by niggers, thus, china proxy colonizing Africa which is old news
James Rivera
Why are the eurocucks taking Chinese gibs? Is Mama Merkel spending too many shekels on her rapefugee pets to appease the corrupticians?
Adam Bennett
It is their former clay. Finns are Mongolian rapebabies.
Landon Moore
>CHINA IS COLONIZING FINLAND Revenge for Kublai Khan I presume
I say we al let china build all their stuff in our countries and then just steal it. What are they even gonna do?
Jackson Sanders
Thats a turkroach
Nicholas Torres
China is the planet's resident loons and they are in the pockets of every major politician. And no one holds them accountable for anything.......my country was sold to them a long time ago.
Kevin Perez
>Chink dollars gets invested into the world to ensnare them in debt that will give them massive control and returns long term >America just boats their excess off to Israel for no loyalty or return Gee, I wonder why one is massively advancing and one is declining
it will never be finished but will waste billions if our big infrastructure projects are any indication
Matthew Parker
it's just a coincidence don't over-think it
Juan Brooks
Embrace our new Chinese overlords, pekka.
Anthony Harris
>30 minutes at lets assume more than 80 The tunnel is what? Like 40 miles at least? Lmao it'll never happen, fucking stupid idea it would be an absolutely massive job and eye-wateringly expensive even with 17 billion from china.
Almost as retarded as that Dartford to Jew York tunnel they said they were going to build here.
Noah Walker
i will be there with >tiananmen square
Jaxson Wright
Finland needs more niggers and arab
White!? Duck of we are full
Charles Lee
they also been trying to invest locally around where i live
Luis Ross
You need no money from anywhere Norway. Rich motherfuckers.
estonians welcome anybody that might destroy their country
Mason Flores
China takeover is a good thing.
David Moore
Yeah those chinks are loaded, they raise the housing market so high that locals can't afford to even live in their own communities. Pic I took of a rich chink
China is trying to get as much money out before shit hits the fan there. Its not them taking over the world, its scared dumb money they are throwing everywhere they think will be stable. China is going to be going full 50s and 60s Mao crackdown soonish.
>china has strategic interests in estonia, but too far to actually subdue >The west has strategic interest in estonia >Russians risk upsetting the chinese with any of their gay crap >Slim EU/Nato push also made harder
It's perfect dont you see?
Parker Rodriguez
China is just doing something nice for their Western brothers & sisters.
>Russians risk upsetting the chinese with any of their gay crap Lmao boy, it's the other way around. Estonia soon be confronted as to why it prevents the Chinese from making money the easier way. Then you submit and disappear in the eternal Siberian steppe.
Austin Carter
>strategic interest any interest beyond demographic replacement is a delusion at this point
why is it a bad thing to be part of the chink trade road? they are already starting invest more and more money in to Lapland. good stuff for a poor country like Finland
Jack Stewart
Suurikuusikko in Kittilä is enough to make you beyond rich if you weren't letting the Canadians fuck you over.
