Paloniemen lomakylähanketta toteuttanut Intercol Oy on 4.2.2020 päättyneiden neuvotteluiden pohjalta irtisanonut Paloniemen sairaalaa ja Kartanonmäen hoivakotia koskevan kiinteistökaupan esisopimuksen. Tämä tarkoittaa sitä, että Paloniemi-hanke nykyisessä muodossaan päättyy.

–Intercolin ilmoitus selkeyttää Paloniemen hankkeen tilannetta. Alueen jatkokehittämistä voidaan harkita nyt uudelta pohjalta, toteaa Lohjan kaupunginjohtaja Mika Sivula.

–Intercol Oy on maksanut Paloniemen hankkeen aikana Lohjan kaupungille sopimusten velvoittamia maksueriä yhteensä 434 209,34 euroa. Nämä rahat jäävät kattamaan syntyneitä kustannuksia ja maksurästejä. Sopimuksen nyt päätyttyä näyttää, ettei kaupunki kärsi hankkeesta taloudellisia tappioita. Hankkeen maksut selvitetään kuitenkin vielä yksityiskohtaisesti kaupunginhallituksen tilintarkastusyhteisö BDO:lta tilaamassa ulkoisessa tarkastuksessa, Sivula korostaa.

Intercol Oy yritti viimeiseen asti saada hankkeelleen rahoituksen. Yritys ei siinä kuitenkaan onnistunut, eikä yrityksellä täten ollut enää edellytyksiä jatkaa hanketta. Intercolin pääomistaja Baizhuang Xu on lähettänyt esisopimuksen irtisanomisen yhteydessä Lohjan kaupungille avoimen kirjeen, joka julkaistaan yrityksen toivomuksesta tämän tiedotteen mukana:

Open letter to Lohja City from Intercol Oy

Dear Mr. Mayor Mika Sivula and all decision-makers of Lohja City

The Lohja Wellness Resort Project started in Lohja in 2017. We aimed to establish a wellness tourism resort in Lohja which would target to international tourists and wellness travelers. The core competence would lies in its functions in tourism + wellness + rehabilitation. We would integrate wellness practices derived from thousands years of traditional Chinese medicine essence combined with Finnish natural environment resources in Lohja. Intercol Oy was a small and new company set up for the project. Our main task was to set up an platform to invite investors, constructors, tourism as well as wellness professionals to work together and to make Lohja a unique wellness tourism center in Finland.

During last few years we have been greatly appreciated for Lohja City’s supports for the project regarding master plan processing and project promotion. Team members of Intercol Oy have been worked hard to take the project moving forward. Unfortunately the project has suffered so many leading it into a difficult situation today. There are many reasons for today’s result but mainly are as below:

Firstly it was our own reason in many aspects. The most important was that we had not well evaluated potential risk before signing certain crucial agreements, which was an very important factor affecting today’s result. This was our own mistake.

Secondly, the project received a complain in June of 2019 which lead the project to be freezed for almost half a year. Before that Lohja city approved master plan and the project was developing as planned. Because the project being freezed negotiation with investors had to be stopped and contract signed with constructors had to be canceled as it was uncertain whether or not the project could be developed further. If it could still be developed we had no idea how long it would take to resolve the complain problem. Pekka Puistosalo has helped us to hold successful promotion events in Shenzhen and Guangzhou China during Spring 2019. The events attracted strong interests among Chinese investors and tourism professionals who loved to visit Lohja – a vigorous and worth investing city in Finland. They have scheduled to visit Finland in Summer and Autumn 2019. However the tours were postponed or canceled due to project uncertainty.

Thirdly, after the complain withdrew finally at the end of November 2019 we prepared to start negotiations with investors and partners for the project. COVID-19 pandemic unfortunately broke out world wild at the beginning of 2020. It came with far unexpected impact to the global economy orders. The project has been inevitably affected heavily. The fact was that the investors’ visits to Finland made impossible and many events and plans have been canceled.

All these factors putting together led Intercol Oy into financial difficulties. Those maintain cost invoices derived from two existing old buildings could not been paid and finally driven us to today’s situation. Here we would like to sincerely apologize for ever not kept promise with certain payment deadline we made with the city. It was our mistake whatever reason was.

Among our team we have expertise who created and developed one of the most successful tourism management companies in Finland bringing ten of thousands tourists from China and Asia to Finland; and we have experience in marketing a successful new hotel by attracting thousands of Europe tourists in a short period of time. We have the potential to make the current project a successful one, unfortunately we did not make it because of all those reasons.

We are feeling very painful with today’s result after all investments and four years time spent and efforts engaged. We would feel regret that aims to make Lohja a wellness tourism center in Finland has not yet come true. I would have to say sorry to those Lohja people who are care of us and concern the project. We are grateful for Lohja’s support and for those warm heart Lohja people who wrote us encourage letters.

Bruce Xu in stand for the team, Intercol Oy, 04.02.2021