HELSINKI
Visiting mayors from Ukrainian cities took pictures inside an enormous cave carved in the bedrock below the Finnish capital, taking in the size and the possibilities of a space that can accommodate 6,000 people.
They are among around 800 foreign delegations who have visited Helsinki’s Merihaka civil shelter – the biggest of the country’s dual-use shelters and now a major shop window for Finnish companies looking to export to buyers concerned about the war in Ukraine and, increasingly, the conflict with Iran.
At 71,000 cubic metres, the shelter is roughly the volume of a seven-storey office building. It was built in 2003 and has sports pitches, a gym and a children’s playground 25 metres (80 ft) underground that are in use daily.
Should it be needed in an emergency, it can be converted with stores of bunk beds, water tanks and portable toilets within 72 hours.
As well as being a testament to Finland’s painful history with neighbouring Russia during World War Two, building such shelters remains mandatory underneath residential and commercial buildings of a certain size.
With that requirement, Finnish companies are skilled in their construction and upkeep – such as fitting and maintaining radiation-proof doors, ventilation equipment and emergency power, as well as communications and sewerage networks.
Politicians, administrators and businesses from overseas, such as oil giant Saudi Aramco, have all sought information or visits, authorities and companies involved said.
Resilience Center Finland, an exports body established in March, said Finland’s security and defence exports stood at tens of billions of euros, with shelter sales amounting to some dozen million euros, with significant growth potential.
Within two years we won’t need to compete fiercely with our peers over getting a gig. Rather, it will very soon be a question of capacity running out, Ilkka Kivisaari, CEO of Finnish-Swiss-owned Verona Shelters Group, said, citing high demand in countries such as Poland and Germany and high interest from the Middle East.
Merihaka is among 48 big and 5,500 smaller shelters in Helsinki – among 50,500 constructed around the country, the legacy of a Soviet invasion attempt during World War Two.
