Finland. Helsingin Yliopistokiinteistöt Oy

Date of agreement:17 Jan 2013
Country:Finland
Customer:Helsingin Yliopistokiinteistöt Oy
Amount in EUR:EUR 50 million
Maturity:10 years
NACE sector / loan type:Real estate activities

Project

The loan has been provided for a 2012–2016 investment programme at Helsingin Yliopistokiinteistöt to construct and renovate laboratory facilities. The programme consists of three projects.

The main project is to construct a new building for the laboratory unit of the Helsinki University Central Hospital. The centralisation of the activities is expected to increase productivity and free up space for care units at the main hospital campus.

The second project concerns renovation of the laboratories at two research facilities, Biokeskus 1 and Biokeskus 2. This project will increase the capacity and improve the air conditioning of both laboratories.

The third project relates to renovation of the Chemicum building to make it more energy efficient, decreasing the use of energy by up to 35%.

Helsingin Yliopistokiinteistöt Oy (HYK) is a real estate company specialised in the ownership and development of premises used by several Helsinki-based universities. The company was founded in 2009 and is part of the University of Helsinki Group. The university holds a 61 % stake, the Finnish Government 33% of the company and the remainder is held by other educational and research institutions. HYK owns and operates over 50% of the total real estate assets of the University of Helsinki Group.

Fulfilment of NIB's mandate

Competitiveness:
The centralisation of most laboratory operations into one building will increase the productivity of HUSlab. These productivity gains pass on to the productivity of HUS and other public and private hospitals by facilitating more efficient treatment episodes. These productivity improvements mitigate the challenges related to increasing healthcare costs in the region.

The renovation of the two laboratory buildings in Viikki’s Bio Sciences campus allows the university to increase laboratory operations in the building.

The renovation of the Chemicum building of the University of Helsinki is expected to reduce the energy consumption of the building. However, it is unlikely that the renovation will result in any substantial changes to the volume of services the building provides for the university.

Environment:
The new laboratory building will be built next to existing healthcare premises and no new supporting functions or infrastructure have to be built. The project’s total impact on the use of energy is not yet known.

Operational re-structuring and the renovation of ventilation systems in Biokeskus 1 & 2 is expected to reduce the use of energy by 35%. This can be regarded as decreasing greenhouse gas emissions by crowding out fossil-fuelled energy generation.

Similarly, the renovation of ventilation systems and operational re-structuring at Chemicum is expected to lead to a reduction in the use of energy by approximately 35%. This is also regarded as having a crowding out effect, which is expected to decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Sustainability summary

The new building to be constructed will accommodate most laboratory services of HUSLAB. As the new building will be built next to existing healthcare premises, no new supporting functions or infrastructure have to be built. A compulsory building permit has not yet been granted.

In both the renovation of Biokeskus 1 & 2 and the renovation of Chemicum, the air conditioning systems of the buildings will be converted from the current centralised system into a decentralised system. Large air handling units will be replaced with smaller units to be equipped with heat exchangers. These actions, and the reduction in the number of fume cupboards, will lead to a decrease in the use of heat energy.

Reductions in electricity consumption are also expected. There will be savings in fan electricity due to the modernisation of the air conditioning system, and in lighting electricity due to the introduction of presence detectors. In addition, operational changes will lead to more efficient use of machinery.

In Chemicum, the savings target for overall use of energy is approximately 35% and in Biokeskus 1 & 2 it is also about 35%.

Construction waste will be sorted into different fractions but the overall aim is to keep the generation of waste at a minimum.

Compulsory building permit has been issued for Chemicum. Building permits for Biokeskus 1 & 2 will be applied once the plans become more concrete.

Press release
18.01.2013

NIB finances improvement of laboratory facilities

Press release

NIB rahoittaa laboratorioiden parannusohjelmaa