Nynas Nypol upgrade for Estonian air base
Ämari air base reopens for NATO operations following runway resurfacing using advanced PMB
AFTER NATO air policing operations resumed at Estonia’s Ämari air base on 1 December 2024, military aircraft are now taking off and landing on upgraded runways paved with new asphalt featuring Nynas Nypol.
The reopening followed an eight-month, €18.5 million renovation that included resurfacing 275,000m2 of runways, taxiways, and aprons using asphalt reinforced with an advanced polymer-modified bitumen (PMB) from Nynas.
‘Nynas are proud to have contributed to such a significant infrastructure project,’ said Heikki Tõugu, Nynas sales manager in Estonia.
The air base’s reopening comes roughly a year after Nynas received a request from KMG Infra, the construction company responsible for resurfacing the 14-year-old runway and taxiways through a contract with the Estonian National Centre for Defence Investments (ECDI).
The project’s tight timeline meant the Nynas team in Estonia had to work fast. ‘The request came on a Thursday and we were able to respond to the bid the following day,’ recalled Mr Tõugu.
KMG Infra requested a highly durable PMB with high resistance to deformation at elevated temperatures and the ability to resist cracking at low temperatures. While the Nynas plant in Estonia had not previously produced PMB with those specific qualities, Mr Tõugu received support from the Nynas BitTech laboratory in Sweden.
‘They were able to test and develop a PMB solution adapted especially for Estonia that met the customer’s requirements and could be produced locally,’ he explained.
Nypol has been used successfully in other important infrastructure projects along the shores of the Baltic Sea, including the High Coast Bridge on Sweden’s east coast and the Öresund Bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden.
The high polymer content in Nypol enhances durability and flexibility and ensures resistance to heavy loads and the region’s extreme weather conditions, critical features for the runways like those at Ämari, which must be able to accommodate a variety of NATO aircraft all year round.
‘This project exemplifies the importance of effective teamwork and innovation,’ said Mr Tõugu. ‘We faced a tight timeframe and high technical demands, but our team, alongside partners like KMG Infra, delivered a quality solution so that the project was completed on time.’
