Vaasa Administrative Court resolved the environmental permit appeals of the Hamina pCAM factory
The Vaasa Administrative Court has issued its decision on the appeals related to the environmental permit of the pCAM factory in Hamina, which manufactures precursor substances. According to the decision, operations could begin in accordance with the permit conditions, but reduced the limit value for sulfate emissions to approximately one-tenth of what it was in the environmental permit. In addition, the conditions for water monitoring were specified. The appeals were mostly rejected, and the right to start or the preparation permit was not revoked.
CNGR Finland Oy's application was processed in the green transition priority procedure, and the Regional State Administrative Agency (AVI) granted the permit in February 2024. The administrative court's decision confirms that the project has the necessary regulatory approvals to start operations.
Environmental permit in place – but construction has not yet begun
Although the permit is valid, the implementation of the factory project is not progressing yet. The Chinese partner of the project, CNGR Advanced Material, withdrew in April 2025 due to challenging market conditions. Finnish Minerals Group, which manages the project, now owns the company in full and is currently assessing how to proceed.
The court's decision is a broad one. We will review it carefully before deciding on any further action.
Finnish Minerals Group CEO Matti Hietanen states in his own press releasePredictability is a concern in the region
Mayor of Hamina Ilari Soosalu considers the decision an important policy, but raises concerns about the predictability of the administrative process:
We are pleased that we have received the decision. However, it would be good for Finland's competitiveness if the permits issued by the authorities could be trusted. The decision is significant, as it defines for the first time the limit values for sulphate in Finland and in the Hamina situation in a saline seawater environment.
Mayor of Hamina, Ilari Soosalu
CEO of Cursor Oy David Lindstrom highlights the impacts of the environmental permit process on the investment environment:
The Finnish system, where the terms of an environmental permit can change during the process, significantly weakens Finland's ability to compete for investments globally and thus negatively affects the Finnish economy and the well-being of society as a whole. Cursor naturally operates within the framework set by society, and will take the final decision of this environmental permit process into account in future investment attraction work.
Cursor Oy CEO David LindströmStrong local support for the project
According to a survey conducted by Taloustutkimus in the summer of 2024, 83% of residents of the Hamina and Kotka regions support the project, as long as it is implemented in accordance with the environmental permit conditions.
You can read the Vaasa Administrative Court's press release on the subject at the link below.