Kontiolahti municipal board, and YIT, a Finnish construction and development company, have started cooperation on a potential data center project. The parties have signed a planning reservation agreement to support development of the facility. YIT has proposed reserving about 25 hectares of land in the Vellamo business area for the project. During the development phase, the focus will be on preparing more detailed plans and identifying partners for implementation.
In a press release, the parties said that the data center would be part of industrial development activity in the Joensuu region. YIT provides services covering the entire lifecycle of data center projects, including development, design, construction, and property maintenance. The company currently has several projects in different stages. A similar cooperation arrangement for data center development was launched in late 2025 in Joensuu.
Juho Siitonen, Vice President, YIT said, “The Joensuu region is an attractive area for data center projects and the land area in question is located in a suitable location, in connection with a developing business area, where there is potential to utilize the waste heat of the data center in both the Kontiolahti and Joensuu heat networks.”
Jarkko Peiponen, Kontionloika, CEO, said, “Fingrid has on several occasions demanded concrete projects from us actors in the region to be connected to the main grid. This Vellamo business area is becoming one such. When realized, the data center will bring hundreds of jobs and significant tax revenue. Hopefully, this positive news will speed up getting the main grid to the area.”
The project also depends on energy infrastructure development in the region of North Karelia. Reliable electricity transmission and, in the future, a 400 kV main grid connection are considered important for large-scale data center investments.
The municipality is zoning a new workplace and business area of more than 100 hectares in the southern part of Kontiolahti. The zone continues toward the Joensuu side business area known as the Salpakkanka area.
Zoning work began in summer 2025, and the draft plan was available for public viewing at the end of the year. The zoning process is expected to be completed during 2026. If everything proceeds as planned, construction could start between 2027 and 2028.