Technopolis Plc will begin construction of a technology center at Ruoholahti in central Helsinki. Construction of the first stage of the center will begin this May and will be completed by the summer of 2008. The new technology center will complement the offering of Technopolis in the Helsinki metropolitan area, where it already operates in the cities of Espoo and Vantaa. In the view of Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki, the decision of Technopolis to locate in Helsinki has great significance for the whole capital city area. "Investing in high tech competence is our common goal," says Pajunen. Pertti Huuskonen, President and CEO of Technopolis, considers the expansion to Helsinki as extremely important for the company. "This strengthens our position as a nationwide network of technology centers. Now we will be able to serve our customers even better and offer them an ever more diverse selection of operating environments," he says. The Ruoholahti technology center will offer its customers not only modern premises in accordance with the Technopolis service concept, but also high quality business and development services. Of fundamental importance will be the strong promotion of innovation activity. As a result of cooperation planned with the Small Business Center at the Helsinki School of Economics and several polytechnics in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Technopolis will introduce completely new innovation and development services at the technology center. Keith Silverang, Director of Operations, Helsinki Metropolitan Area, also draws attention to the excellent location of the new technology center. "It is located at the very beginning of the western highway and midway between the Helsinki city center and Otaniemi. The technology center will be in a very conspicuous and easily accessible place and will even offer a sea view," he says. Above all, Silverang wants to stress the new center's role in attracting business to Helsinki. "The cooperation with the City of Helsinki will create a genuine technology business network and an efficient service concept for high tech entrepreneurs." When it is ready, the Ruoholahti technology center will cover 27,200 floor square meters. The center will be constructed in three stages, the first of which will consist of 6,600 floor square meters. Upon completion of the Ruoholahti technology center, Technopolis will provide its customers in the Helsinki metropolitan area with an excellent selection of different and complementary operating environments. In Espoo, Technopolis Innopoli is located at Otaniemi, in the very heart of Finland's largest and internationally best known concentration of technological expertise. In Vantaa, on the other hand, Technopolis is located in the immediate vicinity of the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport. For further information, please contact: Technopolis Plc, Pertti Huuskonen, President and CEO, +358 400 680816 Keith Silverang, Director, +358 40 5667785 In terms of the number of customer companies, Technopolis Plc is one of Europe's largest technology centers. It is also Finland's largest company that specializes in providing operating environments for high tech companies and offers a comprehensive service package combining modern premises and business and development services. Technopolis operates in Espoo, Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Tampere and Vantaa in Finland, and in St. Petersburg in Russia. Some 12,000 people from 930 companies are currently working in its technology centers. The company's shares are quoted on the mid cap list of the Nordic Exchange.