The section of Rail Baltica spanning from Ülemiste Terminal to Pärnu will be built by a consortium led by Finland's GRK Group, which also includes Merko Ehitus. The contract covers the full railway superstructure as well as part of the substructure on the Tootsi-Pärnu stretch of the railway.

"This is the biggest infrastructure contract in Estonian history, and we are very proud to be part of it

GRK Suomi CEO Juha Toimela said that his company is very proud to be part of the biggest infrastructure contract in Estonian history.

"We have a very strong local team here, and excellent cooperation with other members of the Rail Baltica project, such as Merko and now NGE from France and Sweco from Finland and Sweden," Toimela highlighted. "We have an outstanding team here."

The section from Pärnu south to Ikla will be designed and built in full by a consortium led by France's Bouygues Travaux Publics, whose partner in Estonia is KMG Infra.

"For an infrastructure builder, this is the project of the century — because let's be honest, projects this cool and this large aren't on the horizon anytime soon, and we haven't seen anything like it in the past either," said KMG Infra board member Indrek Pappel.

"As for the Pärnu-Ikla section, I'd actually say that it's a very interesting and, in engineering terms, technically demanding infrastructure project," he added.

Work on railway itself to begin

While viaducts and wildlife crossings for the future railway have already been built, the two consortia will now construct the railway itself along with its substructure. The work is expected to cost €726 million, though the final price is expected to rise.

"We have the option to purchase railway materials from the same contractors if we choose to, and if the pricing is acceptable — totaling up to €200 million across the two contracts," said Rail Baltic Estonia CEO Anvar Salomets, noting that this concerns rails and railroad ties.

"According to the terms of the two contracts, cross-border connectivity must be ensured by December 2030," he added.

The two deals inked Friday are alliance contracts involving design and construction firms from a total of four countries for each section of the railway. Even so, Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis (Reform) confirmed that Estonian companies will handle the majority of the work.

"There is a very high level of international expertise involved, but most of the work will be done by our local construction companies, which means the tax revenue will remain in Estonia," Leis said.

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