Municipalities in Estonia and Finland are drafting a project by which they would apply for European Union funding for the launch of a ship route between Finland and the Estonian North Coast port of Kunda, the regional daily Virumaa Teataja said.
Estonia, Finland planning Kunda-Kotka ship route with EU aid - newspaper
The project is to be handed in when application for support under the EU's new budgetary period opens next year. «The plan is to make a joint project with municipalities in Finland. From the Estonian side there are other counties besides West-Viru involved in the project as well,» West-Viru county governor Einar Vallbaum told the newspaper.
Vallbaum described opening of the ship route as good for the county both logistically and economically, as besides freight traffic it would support tourism, including the arrival of spa tourists in the northeastern coastal region.
In August 2012 representatives of the regional governments of West-Viru County, the Finnish Kymenlaakso area and the Kronstadtsky region of St. Petersburg met in the Russian city of Kronstadt to sign a letter of intent on opening a ship route between the Finnish town Kotka, Kronstadt in Russia and Kunda in Estonia.