Anvar Salomets, chief technical officer (CFO) of Rail Baltic Estonia, said that the deadline was postponed from Aug. 1 to Sept. 3 mainly in an effort to meet architects halfway.

"The interest of local and reputable international architects in the competition is rather high," Salomets said. "However, based on the feedback we have received from interested parties, we found that postponing the deadline will allow for the submission of more thoroughly considered designs that are best fit for an urban space."

The joint terminal will be established in two stages. The first stage will include the terminal building along with a terminal square facing Peterburi Highway and its continuation below the railway toward Ülemiste, passenger platforms, and streets, but also bus stops, parking spaces and other necessary related infrastructure.

A potential prospective bus terminal will be solved as a draft. In order to establish a comprehensive urban space in the vicinity of the terminal, entries must also design potential commercial buildings on a property located on Peterburi Highway.

In addition to a design solution, participants in the architectural competition are expected to calculate the cost of the design work in order to provide an initial assessment of the feasibility of the design. The planned buildings must also meet zero-energy building requirements.

The total prize fund for the design competition is €77,000, which will be awarded to three winners as picked by a panel of judges. Two consolation prizes will be awarded as well.

Unchecked box causes delays

The designing of the Ülemiste passenger terminal of the planned Rail Baltica railway has been at a standstill since 2014, as when the architectural competition was first announced in 2014, the box indicating an international tender was not checked for the procurement organized by the Urban Planning Department of the City of Tallinn and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications in the register despite the fact that its costs exceeded the limit at the time of €134,000 for international tenders some fivefold. This mistake was not discovered until four years later, in early 2018.

Rail Baltic Estonia OÜ is a company belonging to the area of governance of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications whose main task is the implementation of the planned Rail Baltica high-speed railway link and the fulfillment of all related administrative and technical tasks in Estonia. Rail Baltic Estonia also represents Estonia's interests in the jointly established RB Rail AS.

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