Palo: State Will Continue With Port of Tallinn
Minister of Economic Affairs Urve Palo said there is no need to reassess the decision to hand the new domestic ferry service contract to the state-owned Port of Tallinn despite objections from the Ministry of Finance.
“The Port of Tallinn made a cheaper offer and there is no reason to backtrack,” she said.
Palo said for the first time there was competition, and no matter what happens, the ferry service will not be disrupted in two years when the current contract ends. Väinamere Liinid, the current operator, has operated the routes since 1994.
The ministry said it hopes to sign the contract with the Port of Tallinn soon, and will pay the company a total of around 200 million euros in subsidies from 2016-26, 60 million less than would have been required under the bid submitted from Väinamere Liinid.
The Ministry of Finance said on Thursday that the decision should be annulled as the first bid made by the current operator was unfairly disqualified, and the process was too hasty.