Keski-Suomen Betonirakenne Oy (KSBR) carries out concrete casting work for the wastewater treatment plant at Metsä Fibre’s Kemi bioproduct mill, which is part of the Metsä Group. Construction of sewage basins is currently starting in Kemi.
”We carry out all on-site casting work in the wastewater treatment area, ie four massive pools, the largest of which is over a hundred meters in diameter and almost 12 meters high. In addition, we also build numerous buildings related to wastewater treatment. The earthworks in the area are also part of the contract”, says Marko Leppänen, KSBR’s work manager responsible for the project.
According to Leppänen, the amount of concrete to be poured is 27,000 cubic meters and the total weight of the reinforcements is more than three million kilograms. The bioproduct mill, which operates completely without fossil fuels, will become the most efficient wood processing mill in the northern hemisphere, and all its wastewater will pass through this treatment plant.
Experience in pool contracting
KSBR has solid experience in contracting massive pool structures. The company built a wastewater treatment plant for the Neste refinery, which was completed two years ago, in Porvoo. Five years ago, the wastewater treatment plant and safety tank at the Äänekoski bioproduct mill were established in cooperation with Metsä Fibre.
”The whole of Kemi is considerably larger than in Äänekoski. We are currently building a wood processing area for Metsä Fibre’s Kemi bioproduct mill. The contract, which is significant in size, includes the construction work of the peeling plant, purchase chip pocket, wood chip storage and wood chip conveyor tunnel for the future mill”, says Tuomas Skantz, CEO of KSBR.
According to Skantz, it is great to be able to continue the effective cooperation with Metsä Fibre in another project now being implemented in Kemi and to be involved in making the history of Finnish construction.
”The project developer organization works efficiently and decision-making is fast and straightforward. Metsä Fibre has also taken an exemplary line in the fight against the gray economy. It is in the interest of every Finn to fight it with real determination”, Skantz says.
With good cooperation to the goal
”We are happy to continue the long-standing good co-operation with Keski-Suomen Betonirakenne Oy in this contract as well. We have all the prerequisites to succeed together and build a modern bioproduct mill in Kemi”, says Jari-Pekka Johansson, Director of the bioproduct mill project at Metsä Fibre.
In recent years, KSBR has had a strong profile as Finland’s leading total supplier of wind power infrastructure as well as an industrial and car park builder. The company is currently building eleven wind farms across the country. The total capacity of the wind power plant built by KSBR, including the projects currently under construction, is approximately 1,300 megawatts, which corresponds to almost half of Finland’s wind power capacity.
THE PHOTO shows the construction site of the Äänekoski bioproduct factory from 2017, when KSBR implemented the factory’s new wastewater treatment plant in the Teräväiemi area.