Pontos’ portfolio company, property development company AVIA Real Estate, is making a 34-million-euro logistics investment in the DHL Express logistics center located in the Helsinki-Vantaa airport area. The new logistics center functions as Finland’s primary sorting center and as part of the global express network of DHL Express. All arriving and departing Express deliveries will go through the center. The logistics center will include 150 employees, with the number expected to increase by dozens in the future.

For Pontos’, the investment shows AVIA Real Estate’s commitment to being a long-term developer of the Aviapolis area in accordance with its strategy. Particular attention has been paid to sustainability, and the terminal will be built according to the criteria defined by the LEED Gold certificate. The premises will be heated primarily with geothermal heating, and a solar power system will be built on the roof, making the terminal almost entirely energy self-sufficient.

“We are happy with AVIA Real Estate becoming an important link in a project that promotes the competitiveness of Finnish exportation and importation. The increase in express deliveries by air and growing online sales requires new logistics premises that also consider sustainability. The center, which responds to international environmental and emission targets, also increases the attractiveness of the Aviapolis area as a Finnish business hub. This continues the long-term work the company has carried out in the airport area,” comments Päivi Tomula, Investment Director of Real Estate at Pontos.

AVIA Real Estate’s Managing Director Ilkka Pitkänen is pleased with the notable investment. “We are committed to the long-term development of the airport area in our strategy, and we find it important that we can offer modern premises corresponding to our clients’ needs,” he states.

Construction of the logistics center covering a gross area of over two soccer fields (approx. 16,000 brm²) is estimated to start in early March 2024. The building will be handed over to DHL in late summer 2025.