The apartment complexes are planned within one kilometer of rail links, with the expectation that the new residents will primarily commute into the capital, by train.

Saue Mayor Andres Laisk (Parempoolsed) said the area is designated for urban development, adding that he believes that a rapid increase in population like this could benefit the municipality.

Laisk told ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera": "It is vitally important to have a strong center in the municipality because that supports the maintenance of sparsely populated areas, which are significantly more expensive to maintain than central areas."

"Another crucial factor in attracting the private sector to provide services, including various public interest services, is a critical population density. Currently, Saue lacks a center like that," he went on.

Adjacent to the current green belt town of Saue, the developer, Estera, has planned 1,200 apartments, 150 detached houses, and the same number of townhouses (X). This means Saue's population alone is set to grow from 6,000 to over 10,000 residents.

Rain Koort, project manager at Estera, said: "Our main target demographic would be young families who cannot afford a suitably sized apartment in downtown Tallinn. As a result, they have to look in the vicinity of Tallinn, where apartment prices are more reasonable."

Young professionals and young families are the target demographic of the development, in other words.

Andres Laisk added that for the municipality, in fact, a young family initially represents more of an expense for the first couple of decades, as local government must ensure the availability of daycare and school places.

Laisk said: "In 20 years, this family becomes a taxpayer who will help fund services for the next generation. In this regard, the municipality must always be growing and developing, otherwise, we are discussing a dying environment."

One voice of caution was Hannes Palang, a professor of human geography at Tallinn University, who expressed concern about the concentration of too many people in one area of otherwise sparsely populated Estonia.

He said: "In the context of Harju County, I would view this in the context of Estonia as a whole, so it's not good that everyone is gathering in one place."

"On the other hand, I see the logic in why this happens and why the Estonian state is reluctant to engage in regional policy. It's cheaper to maintain things this way, services are cheaper; everything is cheaper, at a time when our economy is tending to move in that direction," he added.

Palang said while halting the concentration of the population in Harju County might not be possible, a proper regional policy could help slow up its pace.

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