Test World Oy is building what it claims is the world's first year-round indoor winter test center, just where one would expect it—within the Arctic Circle. The facility “will remove one of the biggest bottlenecks in the development of vehicles: winter test dependence on the season and prevailing weather,” Harri Eskelinen, President and CEO of the Finland-based company, said in a news release. “We will be able to provide all the test conditions the automotive industry requires year-round.” The 30,000-m² (320,000-ft²) roofed facility will be constructed within the company’s existing Mellatracks outdoor proving ground in Ivalo, located at a latitude of about 69° north in Finnish Lapland, roughly 300 km (200 mi) to the cold side of the Arctic Circle. Vehicle and tire testing will be accommodated in the climate-controlled facility, the first phase of which is to be operational by the end of 2012.