Turku Orthodox church repairs could cost six million euros

Repairs to Turku’s sinking, cracked Orthodox church could cost up to six million euros, two million more than previously estimated, Yle reports. The parish council has selected YIT Infra as the contractor, but the project still needs approval from the Orthodox Church of Finland’s Church Board.

The revised estimate includes additional work and value-added tax, parish priest Ioannis Lampropoulos said. The earlier four-million-euro estimate was based on expert assessments made before all plans were complete and the tender process had advanced.

The project will now enter a development phase intended to reduce costs. The parish is also negotiating a loan and will seek new offers based on the higher estimate. The parish assembly is expected to decide on the loan offers in December.

The work is planned in three stages. Reinforcement of the church’s foundations is due to begin in spring 2027 and take just over a year. The old wooden piles will be reinforced using a combination of jet grouting and a load-transfer slab, a method intended to prevent further sinking.

After the foundation work, the parish will wait one or two years to see how the church and foundations respond. Workers will then repair the cracks before restoring the interior walls. Lampropoulos said costs could rise further during the lengthy project.

The parish assembly is also due to decide on Monday whether to take the City of Turku to court over the repair costs. The city has denied that construction of the Louhi parking garage caused the damage. The city’s legal director, Pauliina Ahlas, told Yle in September that it remained willing to negotiate. Lampropoulos welcomed that statement but said the city had not contacted the parish.

Lampropoulos said a long-term loan would weaken the parish’s ability to operate. The parish also hopes to obtain private funding, saying responsibility for the building’s cultural history should be shared.