Ministry: No decision yet how to distribute €135 million for infrastructure
According to the principles adopted by the government for the 2018-2021 budget strategy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications will receive €135 million for additional infrastructure investments. The ministry does not yet have a plan how to spend the money.
Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Kadri Simson (Center) said commenting on the government’s adoption of the budget strategy on Wednesday that the additional money was very welcome, and that it would allow for projects to be completed apart from the Tallinn-Tartu highway.
As the ministry’s press spokesman, Mihkel Loide, told ERR on Friday, the additional funding will make it possible to get started with additional infrastructure projects sooner than planned.
The work that could be done with the additional money would become clear over the next few weeks, currently no decisions had been made, Loide said.
He added that the projects were distributed throughout the transport sector, highways, railways, ports, and airports. “As every budget is limited also after including additional funds, work can be done in the amount for which money is available in a certain period.”
In a recent opinion piece in business paper Äripäev, Simson wrote that the additional funding would come from loans. “Our aim is to borrow some €115 million a year, of which €45 million are planned for example for larger road and railway projects, and for three years, so €135 altogether. The infrastructure requires additional finding, not carrying out large projects at the cost of smaller ones, and only using internal resources,” Simson stated.
Editor: Dario Cavegn