Work group: Tallinn-Helsinki tunnel contingent on including private funding
Construction of the proposed Tallinn-Helsinki railway tunnel would be contingent on private sector investments, but its completion would have wide-ranging positive impact on the Finnish and Estonian economies, the authors of a new report published on Tuesday said.
The construction of the proposed tunnel would be such an extensive and complicated project that it would require innovative solutions in financing as well, the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications-led work group found. According to the authors of the report, the inclusion of private sector financing would speed up the project as well as improve its profitability.
The work group stressed that the tunnel project requires robust organization, and that the next step should be the establishment of a business to promote the project. They also found that Estonia and Finland should agree by the end of the year regarding the two respective states' involvement with the tunnel and their participation in the project.
Together with Finland, Estonia should also ensure that the tunnel connection would be integrated into the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T), which would increase project visibility as well as qualify the tunnel project for EU funding.
The work group to draw up the report consisted of representatives of Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications, Estonia's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the Cities of Helsinki and Tallinn.
Editor: Aili Vahtla
