Imatra passenger port project

The port, located in Imatra's Ukonniemi district, on the shores of Lake Saimaa, is an important, strategic location for the city. The port represents the city when arriving by water, and the use of the port is linked to the vitality of the city.

The city has a great interest in ensuring that the port area and its services are maintained at an appropriate, environmentally sustainable and value-for-money level.

The Imatra passenger port project will design and implement a port pier for passenger ships, which will enable the docking of larger passenger ships in addition to current operations.

The pier structure will be implemented in a way that makes the services offered more accessible, and it will create a continuum of existing mainland-based activities and renew the framework of the pier deck as an event area. The usability of the pier will be improved by managing the port basin conditions and repositioning the existing breakwaters.

Project goals

The aim of the project is to update the facilities in the passenger port area in such a way that the measures improve the port's accessibility, create opportunities for SMEs operating in the area to develop and expand services, and also create opportunities for the creation and operation of new companies in the area, as well as offer better facilities than currently available, for example for organizing various events. 

The project is estimated to create new jobs, for example in connection with multi-use routes, generate new business activities and produce new tourism products for the region. The objectives can be measured mainly after the project is completed: the number of new companies (monitoring based on statistics from the Imatra Regional Development Company), new tourism products from SMEs and the number of new jobs created (survey directed at companies at the end of the project). The project also aims to implement safer and more environmentally friendly technical solutions. 

The aim of the actions is to reduce the environmental risks of port area operations and guide technical choices towards more carbon-neutral operations. The indirect aim of the project is to attract new tourists to the area. The results of the project are expected to increase the number of customers and enable a wider range of services for companies operating in the area. 

The project will also increase transport connections towards Lappeenranta. The project is linked to the Rauha-Ukonniemi multi-use route project and the Go Saimaa Rauha-Ukonniemi international resort (1.1.2025-28.2.2026) tourism project.