Finnish Government gives consent to construction of telecommunication cable from Finland to Germany
The Government gave its consent on 27 August 2015 for a project for the construction of an undersea cable connection by C-Lion 1 Oy in Finland's economic zone. The project, with the name Sea Lion, comprises an undersea fibre optics cable 1175 kilometres long from Santahamina in Helsinki to Markgrafenheiden in Germany. The project meets the need for a core network connection between Central Europe and the northern and eastern areas of the Baltic Sea.
The length of the cable connection in Finnish territorial waters is about 28.5 kilometres, and in the economic zone it is about 312 kilometres. The undersea cable will run through the economic zones and territorial waters of Finland, Denmark, and Germany as well as the economic zone of Sweden.
The project is a long-term economic investment which is strategically significant for the European Union and for Finland's digital economy. The aim is to build a sustainable, reliable, and super-fast undersea cable connection from Finland to Continental Europe and to secure a functioning telecommunication connection to the west which is better from the point of view of cyber-security. It is also hoped that this will support growth in the digital economy.
Installation of the undersea cable in the Finnish economic zone will take about 20 days. The project will affect maritime traffic and fishing basically only during construction. The routing of the undersea cable has been planned in such a way that the environmental impact will be small.
The Government's decision will be in force for 30 years. Among other things, the implementer of the project must adhere to the general precautionary principle as well as the conditions of the construction permit granted under the Water Act.
The launch of the construction work of the undersea cable still requires a construction under the terms of the Water Act.
