The Horizon artwork formed of plates with donators’ names is growing at a steady pace in the Jätkäsaari pier in Helsinki. At the end of September over 3,300 donations had already been made, so there’s still room for some 900 donations. The artwork is being complemented with new plates as donations keep coming, and when ready, there will be altogether 4,225 name plates on it. At that point the full length of 54 meters will have been achieved, corresponding to the average depth of the Baltic Sea. Installations take place so that several plates are installed at the same time. The artwork is owned by the City of Helsinki.
The full net profit gained from the campaign, about 60% of the funds collected, will be directed to the Foundation’s Clean Baltic Sea projects that reduces the amount of eutrophying phosphorus. At the moment the campaign has generated some 166,000 euros. The fundraising goal (excluding costs) is around 210,000 euros. In the design and construction phase a number of companies donated materials and work to Horizon. Even so, some costs related to the construction of the artwork cannot be avoided: making the plates, engraving the names, installing the plates, and so on.
The goal of the campaign is to finance equipment required for chemical phosphorus removal, which will be delivered to Gatchina in southwestern Russia. Gatchina is the biggest city in the Leningrad region after St. Petersburg, and therefore also a significant polluter of the Gulf of Finland. Around 80,000 people live in the city that is located southwest from St. Petersburg. The wastewaters run into River Izhora, and further on to Neva and the Gulf of Finland. Improving phosphorus removal in Gatchina is a natural continuation to the Foundation’s work in the city of St. Petersburg.
The Foundation is responsible for equipment procurement and the water utility for local planning and construction works. The Gatchina project has been officially registered by the Russian authorities, allowing equipment to be delivered free of customs and taxes. The first part of the delivery is the equipment for chemical phosphorus removal, and Finnish Watem was selected the supplier through a bidding contest. The plan is to deliver the tank to Gatchina at the end of this year.