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Oulu, Luleå and Troms are marketing Northern investments together

Julkaistu 12.03.2015

Northern Scandinavian investment opportunities at the MIPIM property investment market in Cannes, France

The city of Oulu participates the MIPIM property market for the third time in Cannes, France. This year the event will be organised 10 – 13 March 2015. At the property investment market Oulu will lead the presentation of the investment opportunities in Northern Scandinavia. At a joint stand Oulu, Luleå and Troms are presenting their investments worth several billions for the future decades as well as their on-going major projects.

The event in question is one of the largest property investment events in the world with approximately 21,000 individual participants and 4,500 investors. There are about 2,200 exhibiting parties at the event and, for instance, the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Turku, Jyväskylä, Stockholm, Malmö, Gothenburg, Oslo and Copenhagen are participating the event.

The investment boom in the region of Northern Scandinavia is based not only on mining industry, logistics and energy investments but also on the growth of the technology industry in the northern regions. The investments will benefit especially construction and the business activities serving construction industry among which there are several noticeable actors within the region of Oulu.

The regions are also looking forward to growth and investments within the sectors of tourism and creative branches. By 2025 the joint value of the investments is expected to surpass €140 billion in Northern Scandinavia and in the Barents region. Finland’s share of these investments will be over €20 billion.

The city of Luleå is participating the property market cooperation for the first time this year. “We are cooperating with the city of Oulu on many different levels and it will also benefit us to market the northern growth and investment opportunities together for the international actors”, says Director Niklas Larsson from the Luleå Näringsliv AB.

The regional administration i.e. Fylkescommun of Troms already participated the cooperation last year and the positive experience encouraged them to continue with the property exhibition cooperation. Björn Kavli, Head of Urban Planning Department for the transport and communications in the Troms regional administration, praises the results of this new cooperation: “The Northern regions and their growth and investment opportunities will offer a new dimension for many of the world’s leading real estate developers and investors”.

Lead by the Deputy Mayor of Oulu, Matti Matinheikki, the city of Oulu and its various businesses are marketing Oulu as the Capital of Northern Scandinavia with the ability to function as the centre for companies deciding to invest in the North. In addition to Luleå and Troms, the parties joining in the property market cooperation are Technopolis Ltd, Ruukki Construction Ltd, Cor Group Ltd and the port of Troms.

At the event Oulu will be marketing the development and investment opportunities of the city centre, Nallikari and Varjakka. Being part of the Northern Scandinavia and the logistic gateway of the Barents region, the role of Oulu as a centre for logistics and investments will grow stronger. This development will be supported, among other things, by the Arctic Airlink flight connection between Oulu, Luleå and Troms initiated in 2015 as well as by the growing port of Oulu.

The Kastelli community centre from Oulu was chosen for the final of the MIPIM Awards competition this year. Kastelli will be competing in the “Best Innovative Green Building” –category, which will include four participants. The other projects competing in this series are coming from Amsterdam, Oslo and Sydney. The MIPIM Awards winners will be published 12 March 2015 at the Palais Festival in Cannes.

Further information:

Matti Matinheikki
Deputy Mayor, City of Oulu
matti.matinheikki@ouka.fi/ +358 44 70 3112

Pauliina Pikkujämsä
Head of Marketing and Communications, BusinessOulu
pauliina.pikkujamsa@businessoulu.com/ +358 40 743 4362

Olli Löytynoja
Key Account Director, Industry, BusinessOulu
olli.loytynoja@businessoulu.fi/ +358 400 340 028

Seija Haapalainen
Specialist, working environments and premises
seija.haapalainen@businessoulu.com/ +358 50 361 4791

Troms, Norway County Contacts

Björn Kavli
Head of Department – Transport and Communications, Troms County Council
bjorn.kavli@tromsfylke.no/ +47 99293028

Gunnar Davidsson
Head of Department – Commerce and Industry
gunnar.davidsson@tromsfylke.no/ +47 91676990

Marius Chramer
Adviser – Strategic Planning
marius.chramer@tromsfylke.no/ +47 95816737

Luleå Näringsliv and Luleå Kommun Contacts

Bengt Jonsson
Head of Urban Planning Department
bengt.jonsson@lulea.se/ +46 72 732 26 95

Nicklas Larsson
Investment Director, Luleå County, Sweden
nicklas.larsson@luleanaringsliv.se/ + 46 (0) 70 623 12 00

Participating businesses from Oulu:

Ruukki is responding to the growing needs of building owners who, among other things, require energy-efficient solutions and flexibility to modify commercial buildings such as shopping centres. Ruukki’s services include prod¬uct development, design and consul¬tancy, manufacturing and installation - to achieve the lifetime efficiency of buildings.

Technopolis provides the best addresses for companies to operate and succeed in five countries in the Nordic-Baltic re¬gion. The company develops, owns and operates a chain of 20 smart business parks that combine services with flexible and modern office space. The company’s core value is to continu¬ously exceed customer expectations by providing outstanding solutions to 1,700 companies and their 47,000 employees in Finland, Norway, Estonia, Russia and Lithuania.

Health City is a campus like area that combines housing, services and business activities. It is a Finnish innovation that renews the concept of housing and business parks by helping the buildings and architecture of one site reinforce one anoth¬er. The objective of Health City is to respond to the trends of urbanisation, an ageing population and the increasing needs for better wellbeing in co-operation with the city.

Oulu – Capital of Northern Scandinavia – growth and development hotspot of Northern Europe.
BusinessOulu is in charge of implementing the City of Oulu's industry policies, and providing growth companies with the services they require, in addition to promoting export, import, investments, and employment. With the help of its international partner network, BusinessOulu acts as a partner to companies and helps them grow, particularly in the North, where it leads and participates in the operations of Suomi-talo (”Finland Houses”). BusinessOulu persistently develops tourism business, conferences, congresses and events. Oulu’s innovation environment, ecosystems, and think tanks create innovations in a bold and productive manner. The aim is to rapidly develop business opportunities and significantly increase start-up investments. BusinessOulu’s OuluHealth ecosystem is in charge of the Health of the Future scheme, part of the national Innovative Cities (INKA) 2014–2020 program.