Estonia approves €190 million construction project of the border with Russia
The Estonian Government finally approved the €190 million construction project on the border with Russia, ERR news outlet reports. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2026. Estonia had decided in 2015 to modernize the infrastructure of its border by constructing sections of fencing, patrol path, barriers to animals, gates, border markers and the like, but had not gotten budget approval for a long time.
“We will immediately start calling for bids for the construction of four parts of the border for a total length of 33 km with the help of available funds,” said Minister of Interior Andres Anvelt. According to him, construction of the next sections of the border should take into consideration the fluctuation of prices on the construction market which could lead to a cost increase of 7% per year.
He also explained that the construction will progress from south to north because there is more illegal migration and also smuggling along the southern part.
In February, it was reported that the cost of the border construction project increased sharply, from €79 million to more than €190 million.