Saimaa Canal will be closed on 1.1.2019 at 23.00 o´clock Finnish Time, says Finnish Transport Agency.
Next winter four (4) new lower gates will be installed on the canal. According to the work schedule, the canal will be opened on 17th May 2019.
Еhe Saimaa Canal connects Lake Saimaa to the Gulf of Finland. Nearly half of the Saimaa Canal runs through a land area leased from Russia. The eight locks of the Saimaa Canal are operated via remote control centres at Mälkiä and Brusnitchnoe.
The Saimaa Canal was first opened in 1856 and was, at that time, the largest construction project ever completed in Finland.