A major property deal involving a former industrial site in Kouvola could pave the way for a new data centre project in the region.
The site, located in the district of Voikkaa, once housed a large paper mill operated by UPM. The mill ceased operations in 2006, leaving behind a large industrial area that has since been repurposed for smaller businesses.
Now the property is set to change ownership in a deal valued at approximately €48 million.
The real estate investment firm Redeve, which currently owns the site, has signed a preliminary agreement to sell roughly 21 hectares of the industrial area.
According to documents submitted to Finland’s land administration authority, the agreement was signed on 20 February, and a deposit of €200,000 has already been paid.
The Finnish newspaper Kouvolan Sanomat first reported the planned transaction.
Local entrepreneurs forced to relocate
The pending sale has already affected some of the roughly 30 companies operating on the site.
One of them is entrepreneur Raimo Löytty, who has run a business in the area for more than two decades.
Löytty’s company, Kymen Kivipojat, produces and maintains gravestones and other stone products. Because the premises his company occupied were included in the planned sale, he had to move his operations.
– We were given completely renovated and larger facilities. We are very satisfied, Löytty says.
Fortunately for the business, the relocation was not far. The new premises are still located within the same industrial area.
The renovations were carried out by Redeve, which currently manages the property.
Löytty previously worked at the Voikkaa paper mill before becoming an entrepreneur in 2006 – the same year the paper mill closed.
New owner linked to data centre development
The prospective buyer of the industrial site is Novagen Data Centre, a company established last autumn with its registered office in Kouvola.
The company focuses on developing real estate and data centre projects either independently or through subsidiaries.
Local entrepreneurs say they have not yet been informed about what kind of development may take place at the site.
– We know something is coming, but nobody has really been told what exactly will be built here, Löytty says.
Neither Redeve’s chief executive, Timo Heiskanen, nor Kouvola’s city manager, Marita Toikka, has commented on the transaction.
Kouvola is emerging as a data centre location
Kouvola has recently attracted growing interest from international data centre developers.
The Icelandic company at North is currently constructing a data centre in Ummeljoki.
At the same time, the Singapore-based company Nova Complex is preparing to start building another facility near Taideruukki in Kuusankoski.
Novagen Data Centre’s leadership also has connections to other data centre projects in the region.
The company’s chairman, Tarun Tyagi, also chairs the board of Hyperco. Hyperco is currently developing a large data centre in Korea, where the Chinese social media platform TikTok is expected to become the main user.
Tyagi was not available for comment.
The former paper mill area is undergoing transformation
The Voikkaa industrial area has gradually been redeveloped since the closure of the paper mill nearly two decades ago.
Today, the site hosts around 30 companies involved in manufacturing, services and industrial activities.
If the planned sale goes ahead, the area could become part of Kouvola’s expanding data centre cluster, reflecting a broader trend in which former industrial sites are repurposed for digital infrastructure projects.
Source: Yle, Kouvolan Sanomat, property records from Finland’s land administration authority.
Fact:
Many former paper mills and heavy industry sites in Northern Europe have been redeveloped in recent years. Their existing power infrastructure, industrial zoning and available land often make them attractive locations for large-scale data centre developments.
