Russian brokerage house wants to build holiday resort on Finnish south coast
Hotel, holiday homes, marina, and spa planned in Pyhtää
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By Pyry Lapintie
A Russian brokerage company hopes to build a holiday resort worth EUR 100 million in the islands of Pyhtää, near Kotka at the eastern end of Finland's south coast. The company, called Saint-Petersburg Capital, is offering the municipality of Pyhtää EUR 2.5 million for the 23-hectare shore property.
The plans were revealed by the newspaper Kymen Sanomat.
The holiday resort would include a hotel with 260 rooms, in addition to 84 separate holiday houses varying in size from 150 to 300 square metres. There would also be a marina, a gymnasium, an entertainment centre, and a spa.
The six-storey hotel building would be five times as high as Kotka City Hall, and the 84 holiday homes would be the size of a typical Finnish detached house.
Pyhtää municipal mayor Olli Ikonen notes that the project is very significant for a community of just over 5,000 residents, as it will create about 250 jobs.
If the project is successful, the holiday village would be the largest employer of the municipality.
"The Municipality of Pyhtää has only a 51 per cent self-sufficiency in jobs, which is the lowest in the whole area. This means that nearly half of the working people in Pyhtää work outside the municipal borders", Ikonen says.
The planning process will take an estimated two to three years. The municipality will have to pay about EUR 3 million to build water infrastructure, but Ikonen says that the cost will be recouped later.
The aim is to begin construction in about three years.
The resort is to be about an hour's drive from Helsinki, and St. Petersburg is closer than the Finnish city of Turku, for instance.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 13.10.2007
PYRY LAPINTIE / Helsingin Sanomat
pyry.lapintie@hs.fi
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| 16.10.2007 - THIS WEEK |
 Russian brokerage house wants to build holiday resort on Finnish south coast |
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