The costs of the planned Helsinki-Vantaa merger study, as well as those of the proposed report on cooperation of the four cities of the Helsinki metropolitan area and the 14 other municipalities in the region are estimated to amount to nearly EUR 2.4 million.
The implementation plans of the proposed study indicate that a total of EUR 2.1 million has been set aside for consulting.
At present, the sharing of costs between Helsinki and Vantaa is being looked into. It has also been proposed that certain other municipalities should take a share in the costs of the regional administrative study.
Preparations for the launching of the study are to be made in the course of the current year, while the assessment itself is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2010.
A decision on the potential municipal merger is to be made in 2011.
In April, the The City Council of Vantaa voted narrowly in favour of a study on the benefits and disadvantages of a possible municipal merger with Helsinki.
Thus far Espoo and Kauniainen have shown little stomach for a similar move, although plans have been put forward by the capital to create a larger metropolitan area through such mergers.
