Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aasa (Center) said the railway line from Haapsalu to Rohukula in western Estonia could be completed until 2026. It will cost an estimated EUR 100 million to complete.
Eesti Raudtee has announced the design procurement of the next section of the Haapsalu railway from Turba to Ellamaa. The track is being built in sections and the procurement of the Ellamaa-Risti will also be announced soon.
Aas said the construction of these two sections could start already in the second half of next year and that the state had enough money to complete the project.
“Of course, an entire railway is not built at once, and it is certainly sensible to see money in the state budget for the construction of a railway according to how much can be built in a given year,” said Aas.
“Until Risti, it could be ready as of the end of 2022 and then not only to Haapsalu, but to Rohukula. But I think it is still not before 2026,” Aas added.
Rein Riisalu, a lecturer at the Institute of Business Administration at TalTech, who had studied the Haapsalu railway, said that building a railway by sections might not be more expensive in the end than doing it all at once.
The Tallinn-Haapsalu-Rohukula railway could cost up to EUR 85-100 million. (ERR/Business World Magazine)