Tallinn Ring Road attracting companies to surrounding municipalities
Tallinn Ring Road (Tallinna ringtee) is making the municipalities along it increasingly attractive locations for business, with more new companies setting up there despite the otherwise stagnating Estonian economy. Elsewhere in Estonia, however, investment growth is not significant.
This Wednesday, Paulig opened a new production line in Saue to produce condiments. The €10 million investment has created a dozen new jobs at the company.
According to Paulig CEO Rolf Ladau, Estonia remains an attractive environment for the company to invest in.
"This is where our markets are, where our consumers are. There is plenty of space to bring a production line here. And we have a great team. These are the main reasons why we want to grow our capacity and capabilities here in Estonia," he explained.
Andres Laisk, mayor of Saue Municipality, said companies that have previously established themselves in the municipality are happy to expand their production. However, It is more difficult when it comes to new investors, especially if they want to move away from Tallinn Ring Road.
"We are at a stage today where we are opening logistics and production buildings in various suburban areas. This is a good thing because valuable companies are developing in the region, as well as producing, exporting, and creating more well-paid jobs with higher salaries. This is perhaps the direction we have been looking to go in here in Saue Municipality," said Laisk.
According to Kiili Municipality Deputy Mayor Priit Põldmäe, Kiili is currently home to Estonia's fastest growing business environment. There are actually more jobs in Kiili than inhabitants.
Tallinn Ring Road a major boost for municipalities in the region
"If we look along the ring road, there are actually two development centers. On the one hand, there is IKEA, which came to Kiili as such a gift from Rae Municipality, and has started to significantly attract business," Põldmäe said.
"A number of small stock offices have already sprung up there, and a few businesses have also found their way there. Schenker, one of the largest logistics centers in Estonia, is probably going to start building soon, and there are several more logistics centers planning to locate there," he added.
The second business center in the municipality is the village of Luige.
According to the Estonian Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, most new investment is still predominantly going to Harju County and Tartu.
"In terms of the total value added in Tallinn and Harju County, and maybe also around Tartu, things are rather stable, we don't really see any big changes here," said Tõnis Tänav, deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture.
"We are now certainly discussing with local authorities what tools they should have in order to attract more of these investments to their own regions," Tänav added.
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