Hiekkaharju water tower tank to be raised

YIT Corporation Press release, November 19, 2019, at 9 a.m.

Hiekkaharjun vesitorni
Hiekkaharjun vesitorni

YIT is building a new water tower in Hiekkaharju, Vantaa, Finland, for the Helsinki Region Environmental Services Authority HSY.

The tower’s gigantic tank section, which weighs 5,000 tonnes, or 5 million kilos, was cast on the ground and is going to be raised up on the tower in late November and early December 2019. Once the concrete cast was completed, the tank was jacked up at a height of a few metres and the outer cladding was installed. The tank is going to be raised by means of 90 hydraulic jacks mounted on top of the base of the tower. Preparations for the raising process will begin at the end of November.

“Lifting a 5,000-tonne water tank is quite a challenge. A detailed work plan has been prepared and every step has been carefully coordinated so that everyone involved will know exactly what their role is. Safety is our number one priority at the site,” says Mika Virtanen, Vice President, YIT Industry, Energy and Water Supply.

It will take about eight days to raise the 44-metre-wide and 10-metre-high tank structure. Lifting will proceed slowly at about 20 centimetres per hour. Once the 8,000-cubic-metre tank is in place, there will still be some installation and finishing work to be carried out. Also, the entire tower structure must be completed to a sufficient degree before the tank can be flushed and it becomes operational. The total height of the water tower will be 47.2 metres.

“Our new water tower will secure the water supply to East Vantaa as the population increases. It will be equipped with state-of-the-art process technology and solutions. In addition to the water tower, the necessary new water mains and sewage pipes have been installed in the vicinity,” says Project Manager Arto Mettinen from HSY.

The water tower will be an impressive landmark. Its facade will be covered with a perforated metal cladding, illuminated from the inside. Solar panels will be installed on the roof.

The Hiekkaharju water tower will replace the old water tower that is nearby and which will be demolished after the new tower is operational. It has been planned that the demolition may begin in autumn 2020, but the timetable has not yet been confirmed. The demolition of the old tower will be carried out taking into account its location near buildings and roads.

On the HSY website, you will find a construction site webcam that keeps you updated on the construction of the new tower. The image, updated every 10 minutes, can be found on the construction project page.

For further information, please contact:

Mika Virtanen, Vice President, Industry, Energy and Water Supply, tel. +358 50 372 8049, mika.virtanen@yit.fi

Arto Mettinen, Project Manager, HSY, tel. +358 40 334 2867, arto.miettinen@hsy.fi

Pirita Tiusanen, Communications Manager, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 44 240 9822, pirita.tiusanen@yit.fi

YIT is the largest Finnish and significant North European construction company. We develop and build apartments and living services, business premises and entire areas. We are also specialised in demanding infrastructure construction and paving. Together with our customers, our nearly 10,000 professionals are creating more functional, attractive and sustainable cities and environments. We work in 11 countries: Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, Baltic Countries, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. The new YIT was born when over 100-year-old YIT Corporation and Lemminkäinen Corporation merged on February 1, 2018. Our restated pro forma revenue for 2018 was approximately EUR 3.2 billion. YIT Corporation's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. www.yitgroup.com