Kreate and GRK signed a contract for the implementation of the first phase of the Vantaa light rail

Translation: Original published in Finnish on 11/28/2025 at 8:25 am EET.

Kreate and GRK announced that they have signed an agreement with the City of Vantaa for the first implementation phase of the eastern section of the Vantaa light rail. The total estimated construction cost for the eastern part is 280 MEUR, which will be split equally between GRK and Kreate. The news does not come as a surprise, as the Vantaa City Council approved the revised plan for the project last week.

Construction of the Vantaa tramway begins

The eastern alliance will implement a tram line from Kuninkaala to Mellunmäki, which is roughly 8.5 kilometers long. In addition to the tram system, the project includes stops, driving lanes, bicycle paths, sidewalks, and underground infrastructure. In addition, new bridges will be built as part of the project. The consortium formed by Kreate and GRK Suomi has signed an agreement with the City of Vantaa for the first implementation phase of the eastern section of the Vantaa light rail. The total estimated construction cost for the eastern alliance is 280 MEUR, which will be divided equally between the parties of the consortium. Both GRK and Kreate will record over 45 MEUR in their order books from the first phase of the contract. In total, the value of the contract is approximately 140 MEUR for each party. The total cost estimate for the Vantaa tramway project plan was previously revised to around 750 MEUR, whereas in the project plan approved in 2023, it was around 650 MEUR. Previously, the estimated cost for the eastern section built by GRK and Kreate was also 217 MEUR. The main reason for the change in the total price is, in our understanding, the cost inflation in infrastructure construction in recent years.

Construction will begin in December and the project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2029. The implementation of the second phase of the eastern section is estimated to commence in spring 2026 with a separate agreement, and the contract sum for this second phase is expected to be significantly larger than the agreement now concluded.

Anticipated agreement strengthens the companies' order books and supports revenue in the coming years

The agreement did not come as a surprise, as the Vantaa City Council approved the revised project plan last week. However, the project is a significant addition to the companies' order books in terms of its scale. GRK's order book at the end of the third quarter of the current year was 683 MEUR and Kreate's was 242 MEUR. Thus, relative to the order book, the contract as a whole (estimated construction of the entire eastern section approximately 140 MEUR per company) is clearly more significant for Kreate. The value of the project, to be completed in 2029, corresponds to approximately 4% of GRK's revenue forecast for 2026–2029, while for Kreate, the share rises to roughly 8%.  Despite the project's scope and schedule, we estimate the companies' execution risk to be low. The alliance model protects the contracting parties against project risks and enables close cooperation between the client and partners, which typically reduces project-related risks significantly compared to traditional fixed-price contracts. The release does not create an immediate need for forecast changes, but we will revise our forecasts for both companies at the latest before the Q4 earnings releases.