The Kouvola data center project in Koria, Finland, developed by Hyperco in partnership with DayOne for TikTok, has marked substantial progress since YIT was selected as the main contractor in October 2025.
Construction of the first facility reached the topping-out stage in May 2026. The project has also expanded beyond the original scope, with a second phase planned that would bring TikTok’s potential capacity at the Kouvola campus to approximately 150 MW.
The development is also part of TikTok’s €12 billion Project Clover. This is an initiative aimed at strengthening the security and regional storage of European user data. TikTok announced a €1 billion investment in the Kouvola facility in May 2025.
Construction progresses on the first facility
YIT began its main construction role at the end of October 2025. The company took over the principal building works after Exyte completed the project’s initial earthworks.
YIT’s contract covers 28,000 square meters. It includes the data center building, office space, technical yards and other site works. The Helsinki-based contractor target construction completion by May 2027.
The May 2026 topping-out milestone, attended by over 500 guests – most of who had been involved in the construction – marked the completion of a major part of the construction.
Caverion takes responsibility for technical systems
Finnish company Caverion is the project’s technical construction and installation partner.
Hyperco Fin HoldCo 1 and Caverion signed the agreement in December 2025. Caverion described it as one of the largest contracts in the history of Assemblin Caverion Group.
Its scope covers cooling systems, ventilation, fire alarm systems, electrical installations, HVAC installations and interior construction of the data center rooms.
The technical works began in spring 2026, with the facility planned to be completed in phases from the end of 2026 onward.
Hyperco also confirmed that Caverion was beginning work on the technical systems serving the first data halls.
110 kV grid connection
Kouvola data center project also has a dedicated high-voltage grid connection.
In June 2025, Eltel was awarded a contract valued at €16 million. Eltel was tasked with delivering the project’s 110 kV substation and cabling between the data center site and the Fingrid substation.
Eltel’s scope includes the turnkey delivery of the substation and grid connection infrastructure. This also covers design, engineering, installation, testing and commissioning. The company’s share of the work was scheduled for completion in 2026.
Eltel reported in its 2025 project update that civil works and excavation had begun. The 110 kV cable-route design had been completed and piling at the substation area had been finished.
Kouvola campus expands to 150 MW
The development is now expected to provide 150 MW of capacity in total. The first phase will have a 50 MW capacity while the second will have 100 MW capacity.
The first phase is already under construction and is targeted for completion in 2027. The second phase would subsequently add another 100 MW.
Also noteworthy is that, TikTok will not own the facility directly. The current arrangement is for Hyperco and its partners to develop the infrastructure, with TikTok becoming the tenant once the facility is completed and ready for use.
Second data center planned next to the first
In June 2026, Hyperco Data Systems Oy applied for a building permit for another data center on the adjacent site in Koria. It will be located immediately west of the data center currently under construction.
Kouvola’s Technical Committee approved the building permit on June 16, 2026.
The permitted development includes a new data center together with supporting infrastructure.
The permit documentation gives the main data-center building a floor area of approximately 56,670 square meters. Capacity-wise, it will have 100 MW of IT capacity and 130 MW of total electrical capacity.
Environmental assessment for the expansion
The second data center development has also gone through a separate environmental-impact assessment process.
Hyperco Data Systems submitted an environmental impact assessment report covering the proposed expansion.
The project includes backup generators with a combined fuel power of approximately 525 MW. It would connect to the Koria substation through two 110 kV transmission lines over a 1.6 kilometers route.
Kouvola’s authorities have also reviewed issues including stormwater management, noise, air emissions, lighting and traffic arrangements as part of the environmental assessment.
Kouvola Data Center Project economic impact becomes clearer
According to a Menon Economics study report commissioned by TikTok and Hyperco in September 2026, development of the planned Kouvola data center development will support 11,700 full-time-equivalent (FTE) jobs over the construction period.
The report also estimates that the development will contribute €930 million to Finnish GDP during construction. Between 600 and 2,500 FTE positions are also expected to be supported in the Kymenlaakso region.
Once operational, the data center is expected to support 360 jobs annually, including about 130 direct employees.
The economics report also estimates an ongoing contribution of €60 million per year to Finnish GDP once the facility is operational.
Together with other developments such as the new €10 billion Sesterce AI Data Center in Jamsa, Kouvola is expected to support thousands of households Finland through employment opportunities and positive economic impact.
Heat reuse remains part of the development
Another important feature of the Kouvola development is its potential for waste-heat recovery.
Hyperco and the City of Kouvola have previously highlighted the possibility of using excess heat generated by the data center in the local district-heating network.
The idea is particularly relevant in Finland where district heating is widely used.
TikTok expands its Finnish data center strategy
Kouvola is now part of a larger Finnish investment program for TikTok.
In April 2026, TikTok announced another €1 billion investment in a data center in Lahti, describing it as its second billion-euro data-center investment in Finland.
Both projects form part of Project Clover, TikTok’s €12 billion European data-sovereignty program.
Kouvola is becoming a data center hub
The Hyperco project is also contributing to a much bigger investment in Kouvola’s industrial landscape.
The city identified three major data-center developments under construction in 2026:
- Hyperco/DayOne’s Koria project
- atNorth’s Myllykoski/Ummeljoki developments
- Nova Complex’s Kymin Ruukki project
The city said the projects collectively represent investments worth billions of euros. They are also at the center of thousands of construction jobs in the city.
YIT is also expanding its role in the Kouvola market. In July 2026, the company agreed to construct a separate €300 million data-center facility for atNorth at the FIN04 campus in Myllykoski. A second atNorth facility, FIN04A1, was announced in August, further reinforcing YIT’s position in the city’s rapidly developing data-center sector.
Kouvola Data Center Project Selects YIT for Main Contractor Role
Reported October 20, 2025 – Finland’s YIT Corporation has been selected as the main contractor for TikTok’s major data center project development in Kouvola, signaling a move from planning into execution for one of the region’s largest digital-infrastructure projects. The client, Hyperco Oy, via its subsidiary Hyperco Fin HoldCo 1 Oy, announced the contract noting that the facility will span approximately 28,000 meters squared, including a data-hall building, office space and related external site works.
Construction is scheduled to begin at the end of October 2025, with completion targeted for May 2027. The contract value is undisclosed, but will be added to YIT’s order book for Q4 2025.
Kouvola Data Center Project Factsheet
Project Name: Kouvola Data Center
Location: Hiivuri/Koria industrial area in Kouvola, Finland
Developer/Owner: Hyperco Fin HoldCo 1 Oy
Main Contractor: YIT Corporation
Technical Contractor: Caverion
Grid Connection Contractor: Eltel
Earlier Earthworks Contractor: Exyte
Building Size: Approx. 28,000 m2
Construction Start: End of October 2025
Target Completion: May 2027
Current Status: Under construction
Key Features: High-performance digital infrastructure, regional jobs, domestic construction
Overall Planned Capacity: 150 MW
First Phase Capacity: 50 MW
Second Phase Capacity: 100 MW
Investor/Tenant Link: The facility is part of TikTok-Hyperco data center project deal in Finland. This is under Project Clover – a data localization program announced as a 1 billion euros investment in Finland by TikTok.
Timeline for the Kouvola Data Center Project
May 2025: TikTok publicly announces its 1 billion euros investment in a Finnish data center in Kouvola, developed by Hyperco.
June 2025: Hyperco confirms the Kouvola facility will serve TikTok-owner ByteDance. Land acquisition and permitting in the Koria area also kicked off.
October 20 2025: YIT selected as main contractor for the Kouvola data center project. Construction set to begin end of October.
May 2027: Completion of the facility and operations hand-over.
Outlook on the European Data Center Market
The Kouvola facility marks a significant stride in Finland’s push to attract digital-infrastructure investment as projects like TikTok’s Clover want to ensure European user data is increasingly stored regionally. The facility is also one of the first large-scale hyperscale data-centers in Finland with a major global tenant tied to data sovereignty. These continually point toward Europe’s increasing want of data-localization and push for better security mandates.
Finland also offers stable electricity supply, including renewables, has favorable cooling climate, established connectivity and a skilled workforce. These factors make the country increasingly attractive for large-scale digital‐infrastructure builds like the TikTok-linked Kouvola data center.
This milestone also reinforces Kouvola’s growing role in Finland’s digital-infrastructure strategy and aligns with broader global trends in hyperscale and secure data-center investment. This contract also comes as tech clients continue to seek low-carbon jurisdictions with renewable energy supply.
For the region of Kouvola, the data center project investment also brings potential economic leverage. This includes construction jobs during the build-phase and long-term operations employment. It also affirms Finland’s aspirations to be a digital-infrastructure hub.
At the same time, the project also carries execution risk. The large scale and tight timetable with start in Q4 2025 and completion by mid-2027 will demand extensive coordination. This is to ensure supply chain readiness, energy cost effectiveness, and regulatory compliance, especially given the high-profile tenant linked to the project.
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