The Act on the Taxation of Business Income and the Value Added Tax Act were amended at the start of 2018 to expand the scope of application of public private partnership projects both with respect to the parties that can apply the PPP provisions as well as the types of projects the provisions cover.
In PPP projects, the public sector acquires, for example, a piece of infrastructure through a service agreement with a private actor. The private actor is responsible for the design, construction, and maintenance of the project as well as for acquiring the necessary financing. The public client pays a service fee the amount of which usually depends on the use or usability of the object.
This model makes it possible to implements large and long-term projects as a single whole, which includes outside financing tendered by the private actor. Four road projects have been implemented using the PPP model in Finland to date: the Lahti motorway and three sections of the E18 motorway. The experiences from these projects have predominantly been good with respect to timetable, costs and quality.
With the new amendments, PPP projects will no longer be limited to the state, but will also be available to municipalities and other clients. Furthermore, the scope of application has been expanded to cover design, construction, financing and maintenance services for roads, railroads, buildings or permanent structures as well as movable property directly related thereto.
The amendments also make it possible to use the PPP model in entirely new types of projects. The provisions now also cover, for example, private company projects, such as office buildings, manufacturing facilities, hospitals and day-care centres as well as refurbishments in addition to newbuilds.
There is now a solid foundation for an increase in the number of PPP projects. According to the Government bill on the amendments, municipalities invest approximately 2 billion euros in premises and 1.5 billion euros in infrastructure annually. According to estimates, municipal PPP projects could be put into planning in the first five years at a rate of 50–500 million euros worth of signed contracts per year.
As the only Finnish law firm to have been involved in all of the PPP road projects mentioned above, Castrén & Snellman has unique expertise and experience in comprehensively handling PPP and other large-scale projects.
Latest news
Latest references
Finnish Construction Management Consultancy — District Court Dismisses charge in occupational safety offence case concerning a safety coordinator
We successfully represented a Finnish construction management consultancy and a safety coordinator employed by the company in criminal proceedings concerning an alleged occupational safety and health offence. The prosecutor sought a penalty for an alleged breach of occupational safety regulations. The charge arose from a fall accident at a construction site where our client acted as the safety coordinator appointed by the developer. We assessed the scope of the safety coordinator’s duties in relation to the responsibilities of the main contractor, as well as how our client had fulfilled their obligations in practice. We demonstrated that our client had acted with due care and in full compliance with their duties throughout the planning, preparation and execution of the construction project. The District Court of Eastern Uusimaa dismissed the charge against our client. The Court held that our client, in their capacity as safety coordinator, had duly fulfilled the occupational safety obligations incumbent on the developer during the planning and preparation phases of the construction project and had not been aware of the fall protection deficiency identified at the site. The judgment is final insofar as our client is concerned.
Case published 22.6.2026
Efima – Sale of financial management services business
We advised Efima Oyj on the sale of its financial management services business to Rantalainen as part of its strategic focus on fully concentrating on the delivery of business applications as well as data and AI solutions. As a result of the transaction, customer contracts related to financial management services and 65 experts working in these services will transfer to Rantalainen. The transaction will be carried out as a transfer of business, and the experts will move to the new owner as existing employees. Efima is a Finnish digital company that supports the sustainable growth of large and mid-sized companies by streamlining their business processes and by creating competitive advantage through the innovative use of artificial intelligence and data. The company has nearly 200 experts based in Helsinki and Tampere.
Case published 12.6.2026
Ugly Duckling Ventures – EUR 6.5 million funding round of Skyfora
We advised lead investor Ugly Duckling Ventures on the EUR 6.5 million funding round of Skyfora. The round also included Eviny Ventures, LUMO Labs and EIC Fund, alongside non-dilutive funding from Business Finland. The investment will support the commercial scale-up of Skyfora’s weather intelligence solutions, the expansion of partnerships with telecom operators, forecasting providers and meteorological institutions, and the continued growth of the team. Skyfora is a Finnish company developing high-resolution weather data solutions using patented technology that extracts atmospheric data from GNSS receivers embedded in existing infrastructure, such as telecom networks. By unlocking previously untapped data sources, Skyfora enables the next generation of AI-driven weather forecasting and supports improved decision-making across weather-sensitive industries. Ugly Duckling Ventures is a Copenhagen-based venture capital firm focused on early-stage Nordic B2B technology companies, with an emphasis on medtech, resilience tech and business services.
Case published 10.6.2026
General Atlantic – ICEYE’s EUR 1 Billion Series F Funding Round
We advised General Atlantic as the lead investor on ICEYE’s EUR 1 billion series F funding round, valuing the company at over EUR 10 billion. ICEYE raised EUR 450 million (USD 520 million) in a primary Series F funding round led by General Atlantic. Additional investors included Solidium, Tesi, Varma, Ilmarinen, Lifeline Ventures, Nokia, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and TCV. Together with a secondary placement, the total fundraising exceeds EUR 1 billion. ICEYE is the world leader in sovereign intelligence from space, providing continuous monitoring capabilities to detect and respond to changes in any location on Earth. The company operates the world’s largest and most advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite constellation. General Atlantic is a leading global investor with more than four and a half decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 885 companies throughout its history. As of March 31, 2026, General Atlantic manages approximately USD 126 billion in assets across its investment strategies. We advised General Atlantic on this transaction in collaboration with the international law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
Case published 9.6.2026