State Pumps 146 Million Into Green Renovations
The state plans to use 146 million euros from carbon dioxide credit sales to Japan to improve the energy efficiency of 480 buildings by 2013.
Riigi Kinnisvara AS, the state real estate management company, will oversee the renovation of facades, overhauling of heating and ventilation systems, and the replacement of windows and doors. Other projects will involve the installation of new, environmentally friendly technologies, such as solar panels.
The buildings will include schoolhouses, caretaking facilities, emergency response centers, theaters, hospitals, university buildings, athletic centers and gyms, and the facilities of Foreign and Economic Affairs Ministries, reported Postimees.
Many of the jobs are fit for smaller companies, which means that the state won't need to turn to the international subcontractors, said project director Andrus Kõre. Predicting rising prices in the construction industry, Kõre said priority would be given to projects that save the most energy.
Ott Tammik