"In October 2022, the Government of the Republic decided to allocate funds from the supplementary budget to establish suitable conditions for the rapid reception of military units, including allied units, in Southern Estonia," ECDI  Training Area Portfolio Manager Elari Kalmaru said according to a press release. "Therefore we are planning on building additional accommodation buildings, multipurpose buildings and a road network together with external communications adjacent to the Tsiatsungõlmaa shooting range."

The first basic accommodation conditions are to be completed by the end of the year at the latest.

According to Kalmaru, a construction procurement is currently underway for the building of the necessary infrastructure, and the ECDI hopes to sign a construction contract this May.

"Around 11 hectares is slated to be cleared prior to the start of construction," he added.

Key criteria in the choice of location for the planned new infrastructure included proximity to the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) base, the speed of infrastructure construction as well as the availability of both land and training opportunities.

It was decided as a result to build the new infrastructure needed to receive units adjacent to the shooting range at Tsiatsungõlmaa.

The Tsiatsungõlmaa land unit was established in 2007 with the aim of ensuring the continued conducting of range shooting and national defense tactical training that had been taking place there for years already.

The shooting range located on the property was established in 2012, since which time the shooting range has been overhauled and expanded to include additional support infrastructure.

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