Finnish developer SRV and the City of Espoo have announced the termination of a cooperative project management contract for the primary refurbishment and expansion of the Tapiola swimming hall in Finland.

SRV and the Premises Services Unit of the City of Espoo have collectively made this decision.

Despite careful operation, no conclusion on the project’s financial objectives was established during ten months of extensive development work, SRV claimed.

Earlier this year, the parties signed a development phase contract. The client’s budget for the project was approximately €46m ($50.28m), with SRV’s share being approximately €32m.

SRV unit director Marko Räisänen said: “The project’s costs rose significantly above the target budget as a result of changes in the market situation.

“Financially feasible solutions for implementing this technically demanding project were sought in close cooperation and with an eye to the long term, but the desired quality level could not be achieved at current market costs.”

The aforementioned swimming pool has been closed for six years. Condition assessments revealed a highly advanced alkali-aggregate reaction in the building’s foundation and subfloor structures, resulting in fissures caused by chemical reactions between the aggregate and alkali moisture in the concrete.

As a result, the structures need to be decommissioned and reconstructed.

City of Espoo urban environment director Olli Isotalo said: “The City of Espoo and SRV cooperated well during the development phase, but we did not come to a common view of the cost level in the design and implementation solutions.

“The City of Espoo is now continuing the planning for the contract calculation and is tentatively tendering the project using the traditional contract form, most likely during the spring [early] of 2024.”