An allied country has diverse possibilities with regard to storing materiel or relying on vessels or aircraft, for example. Defence Properties Finland works actively with its other Nordic and Baltic sister organisations, and I dare to promise that we will be able to assist our clients in facility solutions also in an increasingly international operating environment.
We have the capability to implement to a fast schedule new accommodation solutions for international troops.
Already when applying for NATO membership, we were able to test our capability to quickly provide accommodation solutions for partner countries arriving in Finland at the time. After a semi-permanent solution implemented to a fast schedule for the Nyland Brigade in Dragsvik, we are already well advanced in building another facilities concept to support international troops in Sodankylä, in Finnish Lapland.
NATO’s joint defence planning brings with it the possibility to take advantage of NATO financing instruments. On 13 April, we organised a workshop for Nordic Baltic Defence Estates cooperation network members, where we reviewed experiences of and lessons learnt from the utilisation of the NATO joint infrastructure funding instrument NSIP, the NATO Security Investment Programme.
NATO funding can be made available for projects when the infrastructure is implemented for the needs of NATO’s joint defence planning and construction exceeds what is reasonably required of one member country. With major contributions from NATO, projects worth tens, even hundreds of millions of euros have been implemented in the Nordic countries and Baltic states in recent years. As a new member country, and especially because of our geopolitical situation, I believe that Finland has the potential to tap major amounts also of NATO investments to support our extensive national programme.
Matias Warsta
Chief Executive Officer, Defence Properties Finland