Oulu seeks to end marina deal after docks appear at auction

Oulu is considering ending its agreement with Toppilan Terwa Marina Oy after learning that five docks intended for a small-boat marina had been seized and put up for auction without the city’s knowledge, Yle reports.

The city learned about the auction from a resident on Monday. It has asked the company, which is building the Toppila marina, to explain what happened.

The project was already behind schedule. In August, Oulu’s urban environment committee decided that the docks should serve as security for the project, so they could be transferred to the city if the agreement was terminated. Terwa Marina has not signed the revised agreement covering that security.

City environment director Marko Kilpeläinen told Yle that the city no longer wishes to continue the agreement. The city is reviewing the matter legally and may take it to the committee for a decision. City geodesist Veikko Lehtinen said the auction had not been reported to the city.

The five steel pontoon dock sections were offered individually and as a set in an online auction that closed on Monday evening. Four are 12 metres long and one is 19 metres long. The highest bid for all five was 35,600 euros. Enforcement senior inspector Heikki Similä said he had not yet decided what to do with the bids.

Terwa Marina chief executive Jouni Tahkola declined to comment, saying the situation was ongoing. Under a conditional extension granted by the city, the floating docks are due to be installed and ready for use by the end of May next year. Final inspections and the start of marina operations are due by mid-June.

The city and the company signed their original agreement to operate the marina area in 2020. The land lease runs through the end of 2042.