news > PoliticsThe law change will allow the use of a cultural fund set up in respect of buildings of national importance; while state budget money had originally been earmarked for the new building, to replace the rather dilapidated current TV premises on Gonsiori in central Tallinn, those funds were rerouted to the refurbishment of the national library.

Only one MP voted against the bill, namely Isamaa's Priit Sibul, who is also the party's representative on the ERR supervisory board. Sibul did so on the grounds that the government should not decide on the funding of important cultural objects as an alternative to the Riigikogu, as this could allow bypassing the legislature on such matters in future, he said.

The amendment to the Cultural Endowment and Gambling Tax Act among other things allows for the construction of one new object, ie. the TV house, in addition to the half-dozen already listed.

Both Minister of Culture Heidy Purga (Reform) and the Riigikogu Cultural Affairs Committee say that the law passing means that funding from the Cultural Endowment (Kultuurkapital) can be used for the long-awaited new facility.

Speaking to ERR, Minister Purga said: "The building to be constructed has not yet been confirmed today. The amendment stipulates the following stages: The Minister of Culture selects an object, which they then presents to the Cultural Affairs Committee, asking for support for this object. If the support is granted, she takes this support to the Cultural Endowment Council and hopefully receives confirmation that the object will be funded."

That object is indeed the new ERR TV house, she added. "Our national broadcaster has been waiting for a new television complex for a long time and is ready to start construction soon, so I will make the requisite proposal to the Cultural Affairs Committee."

"The completion of any other object will not be affected by this," Purga added.

The minister also noted changes to the basis on which freelance creative workers are seen in the eyes of the law, another result of the recent amendment.

ERR board chair: Work may start in the autumn

Meanwhile ERR's board chair, Erik Roose, said that ground could be broken on the new TV house, to be situated on a plot between the Radio House (Raadiomaja) on Gonsiori and the News House (Uudistemaja) on F.R. Kreutzwaldi, as early as this coming fall.

As soon as the law enters into force, ie. receives presidential assent, a construction tender will be announced, he said.

The work will certainly take more than two years, but not more than three, Roose went on.

"But now it all hinges on when the groundbreaking happens. The construction tender is large-scale and international in nature, so it will actually require three to five months from today anyway. Thus we are actually talking about starting in the fall or early winter as of now," Roose said.

The design concept, by the Kadarik Tüür firm of architects, was drawn up several years ago, but was shelved as a succession of crises took hold – starting with the pandemic and followed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the energy price surge and economic contraction.

The original design remains intact, Roose added. In any case, the new TV house will be barely two-thirds the size of the existing facility on Gonsiori, at 15,000 square meters.

Roose said it is difficult to predict the final cost of the new building, with much depending on the tender, though a quiet construction market at present may give hope for a slightly lower cost than initially feared.

"There is some hope that bidders will come and that the offers may be reasonable," Roose said.

Figures previously reported have been in the region of €65 million.

Part of the funding for the new broadcasting building is expected to come from the sale of the old building, he added. This may involve the old TV house being sold on but with ERR remaining as a tenant until the full move to the new house is complete.

"And after the new building is completed, then we will move out and hopefully hand over the keys or the entire territory to the new owner," Roose added.

Minister Purga said that she will be seeking support from the Riigikogu Cultural Affairs Committee for the construction of the new TV building within the next month.

The head of that committee, Heljo Pikhof (SDE), said she was confident that that support will be forthcoming.

The legal amendment makes the distribution of Cultural Endowment funds for the construction of cultural objects more flexible, Pikhof said, as it will allow for the addition of other objects alongside the five currently listed as important cultural objects, once the TV house is complete.

Reform MP Signe Kivi told ERR it is fair to include the new TV building among the objects funded by the Cultural Endowment.

Kivi said: "The TV building was not listed as a nationally important cultural construction project because, at that time, the ERR construction was still within the state budget strategy document, and the initial funding had even been allocated towards it. Granted, that amount was later given to the national library for necessary renovation works."

ERR was founded in 2007 with the merger of Estonian Radio and Estonian TV (ETV), and it is the latter which will predominantly use the new facility, for its three channels: ETV, ETV2 and ETV+.

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