Government programme objectives for Southwest Finland

The government will strengthen Finland’s western connections by developing the Helsinki-Turku-Tukholma link as part of the Nordic Growth Corridor to Oslo. The Government commits to promote further detailed planning, economic impact assessment and the application for a joint Nordic status with Sweden and Norway on the basis of a preliminary study by the Finnish Transport Agency to be completed in 2027.

The Turku-Tokholm link has been identified as one of the four key civil-military links in the Nordic Joint Preparedness Transport System Strategy. It will strengthen Finland’s links with Sweden and the rest of the Nordic region, and enhance interaction between the labour market, business and innovation clusters. The aim is to create a coherent economic area of around 7 million inhabitants.

At EU level, Finland is seeking to include the Turku-Tukholma fixed link in the TEN-T core network in the 2028 revision of the regulation, in order to fully exploit the strategic importance of the project and the potential for EU funding.

The government commits to the West Railway project and takes an investment decision on the second phase of the West Railway. The first phase will be followed by the construction of a direct line between Salo and Lohja and double track sections between Turku and Salo.

The Western Railway is the most important infrastructure project in growth Finland, providing a reliable and fast link between two major growth centres and expanding the labour market in Southern Finland to more than 1.5 million people. The full benefits of the project can only be realised once both phases are completed.

The estimated cost of the second phase is around €1.7 billion. The project will take advantage of its status as an extended core network of the TEN-T transport network, where projects can receive up to 50% of their funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The Western Railway is part of the Helsinki-Tukholma corridor. Its implementation will strengthen the functionality, security of supply and safety of the entire westbound transport system.

During the government period, commuter rail services will be launched in Southwest Finland as part of the renewal of the state’s passenger rail transport purchasing scheme in 2031. The service will be launched in stages on all four lines from Turku to Uusikaupunki, Loimaa and Tampere, Salo and Naantali. The long-distance train service to Raisio will continue as a purchased service after a pilot run in 2028-2030, if the service does not continue on market terms.

Varsinais-Suomi is the third largest region in Finland and the only one in Southern Finland without any state-subsidised regional passenger train services. The government will remedy this situation with the introduction of the purchase of regional passenger train services in 2031, and state support for the purchase of regional passenger train services will be extended to Southwest Finland.

The development of a sustainable transport system in Southwest Finland is based on a region-wide public transport system that connects regional centres to Turku and long-distance train connections. Regional rail transport supports the expansion of employment areas, the competitiveness of the business sector and low-emission mobility.

The Government is making the Turku-Uusikaupunki line overhaul a national priority project for security of supply. The line is part of the investment programme prioritised by the Finnish Transport Agency, has been identified as one of the most urgent repair projects in the railway network and is feasible in terms of its planning readiness. The overhaul must be carried out as a matter of urgency to ensure the safety and operational capacity of the line.

The Uusikaupunki line serves major industrial and port operations as well as the transport of dangerous goods. In particular, the fertiliser factory and port of Uusikaupunki form a key hub for domestic food production and security of supply. Ensuring the operational reliability of the line is essential for emergency preparedness and national security. The overhaul will also strengthen the implementation of the green transition investments and the conditions for the launch of passenger train services between Turku and Uusikaupunki. The cost of the project is estimated at EUR 162 million. In addition, the State will have to cofinance the stops along the link together with the municipalities along the line.

As part of the development of the railway network in Southwest Finland, the Naantali line will be overhauled and electrified. The port of Naantali is one of Finland’s most important hubs for freight and energy supply, and the development of the railway is essential to secure port traffic, industrial transport and green transition investments.

The development of the Naantali line will enable regional train services on the Naantali-Turku-Tampere route and the continuation of long-distance train services from Helsinki to Naantali in accordance with the MAL agreement. The investment complements the overhaul of the Turku-Uusikaupunki line as a whole and creates the conditions for the launch of passenger train services on one of the new routes (Salo-Turku-Naantali), which is considered to be the most profitable in Finland. The project is ready for implementation and has an estimated cost of €19 million.

The Turku ring road (route 40 / E18) from Naantali to Raisio requires four-lane dual carriageways and smoother junctions. The project is part of the wider development of the Turku ring road and a continuation of the improvement of the Raisio city centre section.

The road plan for the project is in the process of being approved and will be ready for implementation in 2027, at a cost of €269 million. At best, up to 18 000 vehicles pass between Naantali and Raisio city centre every day. The project is part of the trans-European TEN-T core network corridor, the service level of which must be upgraded to meet the requirements by 2030.

The project can be implemented in phases. The most critical sections in terms of traffic and safety, such as the intersection of the Ruona interchange and the Armonlaaksontien interchange, can be implemented in the first phase. The initial, rough cost estimate for the interchange is between €25 and €30 million.

Highway 9 is a major inland road link and a transport route for the export industry to the ports of the Turku region. The Lieto-Aura section is one of the most degraded and dangerous sections of the main road network in the Growth Triangle. On motorway 9, the four-lane dual carriageway between Liedo station and Aura, three pairs of bypass lanes between Aura and Humppila at the Loimaa border, and the Aura dual carriageway interchange should be implemented in a prioritised order.

The road plans for the four-lane system and the bypass pairs are ready. The road plan for the Aura interchange will be completed in autumn 2027. The cost of the four-lane system is estimated at €67 million. The bypass pairs will be implemented in phases, with individual pairs costing €16.3, €23.0 and €32.0 million respectively.

The aim of the project to improve Salo’s eastern bypass, the Cantonal Road 52, is to divert through traffic away from the street network in the centre of Salo and improve business connections. The first phase of the project, Perniöntie – Highway 110, was completed in 2016. The second phase consists of the section between Somerontie and 110. The road plan has been completed in 2025 and the project is ready for implementation. The cost of the project is estimated at around €85 million.

The 10 motorway is an important part of the transport network in south-western and southern Finland and a link between the two regions. Traffic volumes on the highway are high, especially between Turku and Lieto, with an average of around 14 000 vehicles per weekday between the Turku ring road and the centre of Lieto. The lack of capacity on the road causes traffic congestion and road safety problems.

An area reservation plan is underway for the four-lane dual carriageway between the Turku Ring Road 40 and Loukinainen in Lieto. The road design and, if necessary, the master plan for the project can be started in 2027 at a cost of approximately EUR 1 million.

Island transport is a basic service of national importance, financed and organised by the state. Functioning connections are a prerequisite for keeping the archipelago inhabited, for the continuity of livelihoods and for the controlled growth of tourism. The majority of Finland’s ferry terminals are located in the Turku archipelago, and there is an extensive network of connecting vessels in the Archipelago Sea. Safeguarding the level of funding for archipelago transport is essential to maintain the level of service and to meet the growth in demand, especially during the tourist season.

In Southwest Finland, walking and cycling are a key part of a sustainable transport system and the promotion of sustainable tourism. Improving road safety requires funding for regional cycle paths and the development of the Saaristo ring road and the Piene ring road. The ring roads are nationally important tourist routes, the development of which will strengthen year-round tourism in the archipelago, local economic activity and sustainable mobility. In Pargas and Naantali, the ring road projects are ready for implementation, with a total funding requirement of around €10 million.

In Pargas, it is cost-effective to replace the castle between Houtskar and Kivimo with a bridge. Replacing the short ferry link with a bridge will improve traffic flow, safety and security and reduce operating costs. The road design for the project is ready for implementation and the cost is estimated at €11 million. The project is included in the Fairway Agency’s investment programme and is cost-effective.

Reform the fairway charge system as a whole so that the basis for charges reflects the actual use of fairways and ice-breaking. Alternatively, the government will explore the possibility of decoupling the costs of icebreaking from the fairway charge and allocating them according to the polluter-pays principle. The introduction of remote pilotage will be made possible. Reforms will ensure fair competition between ports and the functioning of Finland’s key western connections.

The ports of Southwest Finland form a critical hub for Finland’s foreign trade with the West. However, the current system of fairway dues puts the ports in the region in an unfair competitive position: the cost of icebreaking accounts for more than half of the fairway dues paid by vessels, even though the need for icebreaking in the ports of Southwest Finland is very limited. At the same time, vessels visiting the ports pay a cost for the long island crossing based on the length of the voyage, which does not reflect the cost of the service.

In addition, the government is seeking to extend the TEN-T core network to ports, not just urban centres. The government will ensure that the next update of the EU military mobility criteria will take into account the conditions in the Baltic Sea region, so that fairway depth and quay length criteria do not exclude ports from EU funding.

Turku Airport is the second airport in Finland’s TEN-T core network, along with Helsinki Airport. The airport is the 4th largest in Finland in terms of international passenger numbers. All commercial traffic at the airport is market-based. More than half a million people live within an hour of the airport and nearly 300 000 passengers pass through the airport every year. Turku Airport has a significant regional economic impact.

The Government will safeguard Turku Airport’s status as a strategically important airport as part of the reform of the national airport network. Turku Airport’s strategic position is based not only on the region’s business, tourism and international accessibility, but also on its official functions and overall security. The airport plays a key role in border security, maritime rescue and inter-agency cooperation, and its round-the-clock availability is essential in both normal and emergency situations.

Good air accessibility is also a prerequisite for tourism growth. More than two million tourists visit the province every year. The region’s tourism revenue of around half a billion euros is set to more than double over the next 10 years. Turku serves as a back-up airport for Helsinki Vantaa Airport and is therefore an essential part of the country’s air traffic reliability.

The Government is committed to continuing the Archipelago Sea Programme and securing funding over the next few terms of government. Reducing nutrient pollution to sustainable levels requires more effective management and cost-effective allocation of resources.

Improving the status of the Archipelago Sea and removing diffuse agricultural pollution from the list of the Baltic Sea’s biggest polluters are Finland’s key objectives for saving the Baltic Sea. According to the State Audit Office, the steering and funding of water and marine management so far have not produced the desired results in reducing nutrient pollution.

The Government will ensure that measures already piloted and proven to work in the Archipelago Sea Programme are consolidated and scaled up. The Government should earmark and double the funding for the programme in the coming period. In addition, the research infrastructure of the Archipelago Sea should be strengthened and the participation of companies should be made possible.

As part of the Archipelago Sea Programme, the Government will continue and consolidate funding for gypsum treatment also from 2028 onwards in the Archipelago Sea catchment area. In addition, gypsum treatment should be made possible in organic fields, and the co-financing model for structural lime and wood fibre should be introduced for parcels of land where gypsum is not suitable.

The Government will include the Archipelago Sea basin as a special strategic area in Finland’s National and Regional Partnership Plan 2028-2034 (NRP Programme). Agri-environment payments will be increased and targeted to the most polluted arable land (15% of the arable area) on a data-driven basis, so that funding is targeted cost-effectively where the environmental impact is greatest. The targeting of payments will be based on existing risk data such as erosion susceptibility, crop cover targeting models and gradually expanding nutrient data.

The provision of plot-specific nutrient data is a prerequisite for the increased aid level. Measures for increased payments include organic farming, true winter cover, shelter belts, catch crops, crop rotation, organic matter in the field, improving the water management of fields, nutrient recycling and promoting manure transfer and processing. The future development of the agricultural and environmental aid scheme will be based on the principles of performance-relatedness.

The Government decides to carry out a pilot project in the Archipelago Sea catchment area to identify and restore the most polluted agricultural areas on a voluntary basis and to acquire them for temporary or permanent use for water protection and nature conservation. The pilot is based on the Danish model of reducing nutrient pollution through land use changes, particularly in coastal and catchment areas where the environmental benefits are greatest.

The pilot will be based on catchment-specific load and risk information and will aim to achieve permanent reductions in nutrient loads, enhance biodiversity and support adaptation to climate change. The State will provide separate funding for the pilot and will be responsible for national steering of the model in cooperation with regional actors. The state funding for the pilot will serve as seed money for a fund to be further developed, mainly based on private funding. The results of the pilot will be used to extend the approach to other stressed coastal areas and other habitats.

The Government will strengthen biodiversity by continuing and funding the Pearl Habitat Programme and the Municipal Pearl Grant Application, as well as the METSO programme as part of the national restoration plan under preparation. The long-term goal is to halt habitat loss and improve habitat condition by 2050. The Archipelago Sea and its catchment area are home to a significant number of endangered habitats and species on a national scale, which should be improved immediately.

The government will correct the negative impacts of past policies on threatened traditional biotopes by strengthening their management and continuity, allowing for longer-term management contracts, including for grazing, and a more flexible support system. The area of managed traditional biotopes has declined sharply in recent years because the current national agricultural support scheme does not adequately support biodiversity values. The NRP has the potential to change this.

Finland commits to a controlled and gradual transition from imported ammonia to green, domestic ammonia. The transition will strengthen security of supply for food production, industry and transport. Domestic ammonia will improve the self-sufficiency of food production in fertilisers.

Developing domestic green ammonia production is key to Finland’s move away from import dependence on warring or geopolitically unstable regions. The strategic importance of Finland’s only green ammonia production plant, planned for Naantali, must be recognised in the transition. State support and risk-sharing mechanisms should be directed not only at energy investments but also at the use of ammonia as a fertiliser. Support policy and regulation must enable the emergence of a green ammonia market in the transition phase, when the raw material is not yet cost-competitive with fossil alternatives.

The Government will ensure the conditions for electricity supply and green transition investments in Southern Finland by focusing on the development of the transmission grid in South-Western and Southern Finland and streamlining the authorisation procedures for transmission network investments. Regulation must ensure a predictable and economically viable investment and operating environment. Southwest Finland is a key investment area for industry, the hydrogen economy and data-intensive solutions, but the capacity of the grid is limiting growth. The development of the grid must prioritise connections that link electricity production on the west coast to growth centres in southern Finland. In Southwest Finland, the Lieto-Raisio interconnector is a topical and urgent development project. The next major development needs are the Rauma-Uusikaupunki-Raisio and Lieto-Salo-Virkkala interconnectors.

The Government will also clarify and update the legislative framework for the electricity market so that offshore wind power produced in Åland’s territorial waters can be connected to the mainland Finnish grid. This is essential to secure electricity supply for Southwest Finland and other high-consumption areas in Southern Finland.

Under the Spatial Planning Act, coastal associations are assigned a statutory maritime spatial planning task without budgetary funding. Maritime spatial planning in the eight coastal counties is coordinated by the Association of Southwest Finland. The activities are financed by project funding. The importance of marine spatial planning is clearly highlighted in the new EU maritime policy guidelines, and the EU will set new challenges and requirements for marine spatial planning. The state must provide the associations of coastal regions with sufficient funding to carry out marine spatial planning work.

The Government will strengthen the role of higher education and RDI as a basis for Finland’s economic growth, competitiveness and capacity for renewal. The government will maintain the parliamentary RDI target and the indexation of basic funding for higher education. Crucial for growth is that the implementation of the higher education vision guiding higher education and RDI policy is based on the allocation of resources according to skills needs, performance and impact.

The allocation of higher education places, core funding and RDI efforts must respond to student demand in growing regions, labour market needs, industrial development and the strengthening of clusters of excellence. In growing regions, investment in knowledge is most effective in supporting higher education levels, the availability of skilled labour, business-driven innovation and the commercialisation of technologies.

The higher education system will be developed with a focus on raising educational attainment, quality and impact of research, and resources will not be unnecessarily tied up in administrative reforms. The value chain between research and business will be strengthened so that RDI efforts lead more systematically to commercialisable and scalable solutions.

The funding system for higher education will be simplified and its steering effects clarified. At the same time, the Government will strengthen the capacity of higher education institutions and regional RDI actors to benefit from competitive EU research and innovation funding as part of Finland’s growth and international impact.

The Government will strengthen technical education and research in the Turku region and the research cluster of universities in the field. The government will increase entry places and fast-track training pathways in critical skills areas for the maritime industry, enable flexible training models for those in employment and career changers, and strengthen joint training programmes between higher education, vocational education and training and companies. The government will ensure the continuity of RDI funding for the maritime industry and support the building of strong ecosystems in the fields of sustainable maritime transport, smart manufacturing and Arctic marine technologies.

Maintaining the competitiveness of the maritime industry and keeping production in Finland requires long-term investments in knowledge, RDI and labour supply. The sector’s strong order book, including the long-term framework contracts of Turku Shipyard, Rauma Shipyard’s icebreaker projects and the strong growth of Teijo and Uusikaupunki Shipyards, demonstrate the international competitiveness of the maritime industry and the need to ensure the continuation of positive developments in Finland. The government will strengthen the maritime cluster of excellence covering the whole of south-west Finland and launch programmes to develop overall maritime safety and the low-altitude economy by strengthening research and experimental environments and removing regulatory barriers.

The decline in funding for basic research and clinical trials in recent years has undermined the effectiveness of health research and innovation, international competitiveness, Finland’s attractiveness as an investment environment and patients’ access to new treatments. To address this situation, the government will strengthen funding for basic and applied research, reassess the functioning of existing funding instruments and incentives, and increase the quantity and quality of clinical trials. The allocation of public R&D funding will focus on the strategic priorities identified by the Research and Innovation Council.

The government will improve the smoothness and predictability of authorisation procedures by speeding up the national implementation of the EU Clinical Trials Regulation, ensuring the secure use of health and biobanking data for research, and strengthening doctor-researcher training. The integration of research and care will be strengthened by deepening cooperation between universities and university hospitals, and the full role of welfare regions as enablers of research will be developed by increasing dedicated research funding for university welfare regions.

The government identifies the promotion of women’s health as one of Finland’s future growth and export potential. The Women’s Health Hub Finland initiative will be built around an international centre of excellence in research, diagnostics and health technology, with the necessary resources. The hub will capitalise on the strong existing ecosystem and global anchor companies in the Turku region. Women’s health is an unmet global need that Finland can address through innovation policy, export promotion and, for example, development policy.

The government will support the development of sustainable island tourism and tourism infrastructure, boost investment by tourism businesses and improve accessibility to island regions. Development will focus on promoting year-round tourism and strengthening the profile of the archipelago, with the aim of doubling tourism income and establishing a strong position as part of Finland’s tourism exports.
The Government will follow up the National Tourism Strategy with a concrete growth agenda to strengthen tourism investment, international accessibility and sustainable growth. The programme will be targeted at the growth areas identified in Finland’s tourism marketing, most importantly the Turku archipelago. The main objectives of the Growth Programme are to promote year-round tourism and to enable smooth travel chains. To stimulate island tourism, increased levels of investment aid for businesses will be used to take advantage of long distances, transport, logistics, seasonality and fragmentation of infrastructure.

In addition to the archipelago, Southwest Finland’s international appeal is strengthened by its significant cultural, sporting and architectural sites, and by Turku’s status as a historic and European city of culture. The Government recognises Turku’s cultural attractions and international events, such as the Paavo Nurmi Games and Ruisrock, and other key sites in the region, such as the Paimio Sanatorium, as key attractions for tourism income, international visibility and regional vitality.

Economic growth, security of supply and vitality in Southwest Finland require sufficient labour supply. Internationalisation is a key competitive factor for South-West Finland, and immigration policy must support the integration of skilled workers and employees into Finland and their rapid integration into working life and society.

The Government will amend the exception to the permanent residence permit to apply not only to holders of a higher university degree but also to holders of a polytechnic degree in Finland. The integration of skilled workers into the labour market will be strengthened by supporting career guidance and employer cooperation in higher education institutions, by enabling international skilled workers to start language studies before they enter the country, and by developing recruitment and training support schemes for companies. The government will target funding for integration training towards models that are integrated into working life and allow for more flexible combinations of funding from employment regions, municipalities and higher education institutions.

The government will assess and correct the impact of income limits on family reunification on labour supply. Excessively high income limits make it difficult to settle permanently and increase labour turnover, especially in sectors where wages are moderate but labour demand is critical, such as agriculture and the food industry.

The government will reform the state contribution system as a whole so that it safeguards the funding of municipalities in proportion to their statutory tasks and demographic changes. The government will strengthen the investment capacity and financial sustainability of municipalities so that investments in vitality, infrastructure and growth can be made even in a downturn. The state must ensure that new tasks are fully financed and that decisions affecting the finances of municipalities are assessed as a whole. The government will clarify the financing system so that there is a clear division of labour between the responsibilities of municipalities, the guidance of the state and the obligations of the welfare regions.

Part of the imputed cost of state contributions is determined by the insularity of the municipality. The reform of the insularity law has updated the law to reflect the changed context, but remains incomplete due to the collapse of the state contribution reform. The government will ensure that the law on islands and its classification of insularity are fully taken into account in the state contribution system and that funding is transparently allocated to those municipalities and regions where insularity creates real and permanent additional costs for the provision of services.

The government will reform the national funding system for regional development and regional aid for business investment. The government will influence EU regional aid policy to increase the effectiveness of funding and avoid distortions of competition between regions. Regional development and support needs must be assessed on the basis of real economic and labour market conditions, not just on the basis of sparse population or NUTS boundaries locked into large regions that do not reflect the differences in development and population density within regions. By focusing on the effectiveness of the Structural Funds, they bring greater benefits to the economy. The regions have the best view of the regional situation and the most effective measures. Regions should have a strong role in the allocation of regional development funding. Funding should be allocated directly to the regional unions, which have a statutory responsibility for regional development.

The current different levels of investment aid for businesses, based on factors such as low population density and geographical location, should be abolished. They distort competition between companies. If regionally targeted aid rates continue to be used, higher aid rates should also be made possible in the restructuring regions of southern and western Finland. Special account must be taken of the special conditions of the archipelago. The government will strengthen the national mandate to target and update aid areas also during the programming period in situations of sudden structural change and to influence EU state aid regulation and its interpretation so that the use of regional aid supports balanced regional development throughout the country.

The funding model for unemployment benefits, the formulaic nature of the service system and poor access to services for the most vulnerable have caused problems for municipalities in implementing the employment service reform. The so-called incentive-based funding model for unemployment benefits is testing the financial capacity of municipalities. Legislation on statutory services does not sufficiently support the development of local solutions and the cost-effective targeting of services. Moreover, municipalities do not have sufficient tools to support long-term unemployed jobseekers. Existing employment services under the law on organisation are too limited to employ the most disadvantaged.

The government programme sets out a series of corrections to the employment service system. The funding model for unemployment benefits will be modified to make it fairer in terms of cyclical risks and structural factors of unemployment. Municipalities will be given greater flexibility in service provision and in targeting services to jobseekers who benefit from them. Services for clients of employment services in a vulnerable labour market situation will be safeguarded.