Govt suspends Saimaa Canal advisory board

The government decided to suspend the work of the Saimaa Canal Advisory Board for the time being, said the Ministry of Transport and Communications in a press release on Tuesday.

The Advisory Board has not met since Russia launched its war of aggression in Ukraine.

The government has evaluated the role of various multi-member bodies in supporting its work and the implementation of the Government Programme.

As a result of the evaluation, the Government has decided to suspend the work of the Saimaa Canal Advisory Board for the time being.

The work has mainly focused on providing information on the situation in the Saimaa Canal and the Saimaa region.

Should the international situation change and vessel traffic in the Saimaa Canal recover, the need for relaunching the work of the Saimaa Canal Advisory Board can be assessed.

The current Advisory Board is the third of its kind and its term began on 1 April 2022.

The Saimaa Canal is 43 kilometres long. Nearly half of the canal runs through an area leased from Russia.