The next large bioproduct mill components requiring special transport will be moved from the port of Ajos to the mill’s construction site during May and July 2022. The routes for the components will go both by road and through the inland port of Kemi. The first transports will take place at the turn of the week the week 20 and 21, subject to weather conditions. The special transports will be carried out during evenings and nights to cause minimum inconvenience to other traffic. People are asked to pay attention to the safe distance from a special transport, and let the people involved in the transport work in peace. The smoothness and safety of the transports will be ensured by traffic marshals, whose directions must be followed in all circumstances without exception.
The weather affects the special transports, particularly on the route from the deep-water port of Ajos to the Kemi inland port, and their schedule will be adjusted according to the weather conditions. The goal is to complete the last transports by the end of July. From the deep-water port of Ajos, the special transports will be moved by barge through a water route to the inland port in the centre of Kemi, where the components will be moved on shore. From the inland port, the route passes through Kauppakatu, Sairaalakatu, Hahtisaarenkatu, Lehtokatu and Pajusaarentie to the prefabrication areas at the bioproduct mill site. The street lighting by the route and Hahtisaarenkatu–Lehtokatu traffic lights are removed and will be reinstalled as soon as the transports are finished. The transport route will also be subject to some parking restrictions, which will be removed once the transports are finished.
From May to July, the largest components will be transported through the inland port. There are a totally 25 pieces of these components. They include the bioproduct mill’s evaporator units, debarking drums and titanium towers. The largest pieces are the 15-metre wide, 510-tonne evaporator units. The longest pieces are the approximately 65-metre-long reactor towers. The transport of the components will proceed at walking speed. For example, the transport of a single component from the inland port to the mill’s construction site will take approximately four hours.
The components are delivered by Valmet, one of the main partner in Metsä Fibre’s bioproduct mill project. Our logistics partners are responsible for organising the special transports and transporting the components in Kemi. The special transports’ planning phase has taken two years, and arrangements have been made in close cooperation with the town of Kemi, as well as Kemin Energia ja Vesi. The first special transports arrived at the bioproduct mill’s construction site in October 2021.
The Kemi bioproduct mill project of Metsä Fibre, part of Metsä Group, is progressing according to plan and on schedule. Currently, nearly all work stages related to the building of the new mill are represented at the construction site: earthworks; cast-in-place construction; the installation of concrete element building structures and concrete elements; and mechanical and electrical installations in various locations at the site. Approximately 1,700 people currently work at the site every day. You can follow the progress of the bioproduct mill project on Metsä Group’s Kemi site, as well as the progress of the construction of the product warehouse at the port of Ajos, through web camera livestreaming at www.metsafibre.com/webcamskemi.