Finnish public transport system Tampere Tramway has chosen construction companies YIT and NRC Group as service providers for the Pirkkala-Linnainmaa tramway alliance.

In addition, designers AFRY and Sweco have been added to the partnership.

The project’s client parties include the city of Tampere and the municipality of Pirkkala.

The development phase, which is already underway, includes creating an implementation plan from the Linnainmaa region to Suuppa in Pirkkala.

The plan is expected to be authorised by the respective Tampere and Pirkkala city councils by the end of September 2024.

The estimated investment value of this alliance contract is €335m ($358m), out of which €13.5m is reserved for the development phase.

YIT Infra interim EVP Aleksi Laine said: “The winning of this alliance project is an excellent example of the strong skills and expertise that we and our partners have in common. We are delighted to be able to develop this regionally and socially significant project together with all parties involved.”

As per the preliminary schedule estimate for the tramway in the regional master plan, construction is expected to take place between 2025 and 2028 as long as the councils of Tampere and Pirkkala reach a construction decision late next year.

NRC CFO and acting CEO Ole Gulsvik said: “This is the seventh rail transport-related alliance project for NRC, including the Jokeri Light Rail project, which is the largest so far, and Tampere Tramway, where public traffic officially opened in August 2021.

“The next milestone is the approval from the councils on the construction phase in 2024.”

Last month, the Central Finland Student Housing Foundation awarded YIT a €11m contract to develop a new student apartment building in Jyväskylä, Finland.