ENGLISH SUMMARY

Defence Properties will serve the Defence Forces as part of the Senate Group

KUVA: RAKENNUSLAITOS

In the future, all of the State-owned constructed real estate assets will be managed centrally by two public utility organisations: the existing Senate Properties and its newly established subsidiary, Defence Properties. Jointly these organisations constitute the Senate Group.

The real estate assets currently under the ownership management of Senate Properties and in the use of the Defence Forces are being conveyed to Defence Properties. For the most part, the operations of the Construction Establishment of Defence Administration will pass on to Defence Properties, while some functions will be transferred to Senate Properties. The joint group services of the Senate Group include shared functions such as procuring, finances, information management, human resources and communications.

Defence Properties will provide facilities services for the Defence Forces and its strategic partners. Senate Properties, on the other hand, will provide facilities services for the other fields of State administration. Within the new group structure, the expertise of Defence Properties in terms of readiness and preparedness will benefit all Stateowned properties across the board.

Military properties and facilities require special competence

The Defence Forces have approximately 2.8 million square meters of facilities in their use. The book value of this significant real estate asset amounts to approximately 1.1 billion euro. The facilities used by the Defence Forces are mostly other than typical office space, and the buildings are primarily located in military areas with restricted access.

“The facilities are a part of the operational capability of the Defence Forces and its securing, and their longterm planning and maintenance call for a systematic approach. High-security and protective structures represent a core competence area in construction, and the organisation must possess strong cyber security competencies to protect classified information”, emphasises Matias Warsta, Director of the Construction Establishment.

“The best outcome of the Defence Properties project is that, in the future, there will be one single actor within the national defence that combines the facilities management competencies of the Construction Establishment and Senate Properties. As a subsidiary of Senate Properties, the operational capacity of Defence Properties will be more extensive, thus enabling it to offer increasingly flexible and tailored services”, Matias Warsta continues.

“The setting up of Defence Properties brings one era to an end. The achievements of the Construction Establishment will carry on in the new organisation as well. We are proud of the work done over the past decades, which has played a significant role in building the defence capability of the sovereign Finland. We will take the best practices with us to the new Defence Properties”, Warsta states.