Pirha cleared to borrow €280 million to buy Hatanpää and Koukkuniemi

Pirkanmaa welfare area, known as Pirha, has been granted state borrowing authorisations that will allow it to acquire Hatanpää Hospital and the Koukkuniemi estate, Aamulehti reports. Pirha CEO Mika Kontio confirmed the borrowing ceiling for 2027 at €280 million. That clears the way for Tampere's planned sales. Hatanpää is priced at about €118 million, Koukkuniemi at €42 million, and the historic Tampere central fire station at just under €7 million. Altogether the city expects to receive roughly €170 million from the property sales, though final totals will be fixed once loan arrangements are completed. All three sites are familiar local landmarks for Tampere residents. The decision follows Pirha's recent purchase of Tampere’s central fire station confirmed earlier this month and builds on earlier moves by the welfare area to consider buying Tampere-area care properties to secure group homes as previously reported.

According to Tamperelainen, the authorisation also covers further development of social and health care properties, including repairs and conversions of buildings, purchases of equipment, and investments for the rescue services. The details include, among other things, the renewal of the Keikyä fire station in Sastamala. Tamperelainen adds that the planned Koukkuniemi land will continue to be leased.

Tamperelainen further reports that the purchase estimate for Koukkuniemi is about €62 million, a figure that differs from the earlier pricing. The borrowing authorisation is not limited to acquisitions, but also supports investment projects scheduled for next year, including an elderly housing unit in Naistenmatka, Pirkkala, and a group home for people with intellectual disabilities planned for Peltolammi, Tampere.

In addition, Tamperelainen notes that the borrowing framework sets conditions for accountability and financing: county investments and investment-like contracts for 2027 total €445 million, and Pirha has already received €165 million in previously approved borrowing authorisations. The county must also report the measures it will take to ensure it can service its debt and submit calculations for how debt-servicing capacity will be developed to the Ministry of Finance by 31 May 2027.

Tamperelainen quotes Pirkanmaa wellbeing services county director Marina Erhola as saying that loans will be taken only in line with the investment plan, and that the sustainability of finances will be closely monitored.