Parties promise to voters last year’s snow

Kadri Hansalu
, majandustoimetuse juhataja
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Photo: Andrus Eesmaa / Järva Teataja

This time around, how hard to find an investment promised in election programmes regarding next parliament mandate. The financing of lots of projects – ones they generously vow to support – has already been decided or stated in development programmes. The parties up to now outside of Riigikogu like Free Party and Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) will not promise even that.

One gets the feeling that lion’s share of ideas in the programmes were found in the work plans in ministries where the projects best-sounding and media-covered were mined for. Such as are quite advanced, they promise to «build» or «construct»; such objects as are in the beginning stages, they «support» or «desire».

For instance, all parliamentary parties promise to continue the completion of Estonia’s Eastern border, and most vow to begin building Rail Baltic. Reform Party (RE), soc dems (SDE) and Centre Party (KE) promise to build Estonian Academy of Arts a new building.

According to State Real Estate Ltd (RKAS) press rep Madis Idnurm, the academy’s new building is built by EU structural funds new period money and the art academy’s own money that was made by selling its lots in Tallinn city centre and Old Town.

There are more projects in the programmes, the financing of which is already decided: Reform vows to expand Tallinn Airport’s air traffic area which the airport says is financed without state help, out of EU funds and their own money. Soc dems promise to continue renovating the Public Broadcasting (ERR) buildings for which culture ministry has already allotted the money, and to build Tallinn Prison in Rae Commune, the financing of which has already been promised as well according to RKAS.

As some objects like Estonian National Museum are about to be completed, Reform for one vows to «open [it] and achieve international attention for its expositions».

The 93 page mammoth of a programme by Reform Party looks like, just in case, it included any project imaginable. Thus, we read that Reform «desires» to unhook Estonian electricity system from that of Russia and to establish an additional Estonia-Latvia power transmission line. And they do «support» all kinds of projects – a verb which may mean state budget money or a pat on the back.

So what do they mean by «support», in the election programme? Reform Party cadre Arto Aas admits this may carry varying meanings with various objects.

«In some cases laws are needed, in some cases money from the state budget or a public enterprise. For instance, LG terminals might preferably be built by private sector while the state can support their investments by an open market and by creating an environment conducive to international cooperation and free competition. When it comes to storage of gas needed for energy security, and to build Balticconnector linking the gas markets, public spending is expedient as well,» he specified.

As if to fill up space, Reform Party observes the upcoming governing period may include a decision regarding the development of national opera Estonia stages and infrastructure. To counter that, Centre Party hath already decided and promises, by 2018, to begin building a new house.

When it comes to the heated restoration of Haapsalu railway connection, this the parties promise in nicely nothing-said verbiage. 

Centre Party «supports» restoration of Tallinn-Haapsalu-Rohuküla railway traffic by 2017. In IRL estimation, «a solution needs to be found for the restoration of Haapsalu railway». Soc dems are «analysing financing options regarding regional train traffic development in directions with perspective including restoration of train traffic on Riisipere-Haapsalu section». Reform Party keeps mum.

Sure, the programmes come with some investment ideas of the more original kind. But, modestly, are presented as ideas which might be considered. 

As an example of that, IRL promises to support the building of a large hybrid-conference-centre to develop business tourism, and to start developing housing units for the elderly to replace old people’s homes. Centre Party centres on promises to build roads and cultural facilities while also tossing up the idea about safety fences along the highways and moving Folk Culture Centre over to Viljandi.

In road construction, the parties promise three or four lane milk and honey. However, instead of built-by deadlines, they point towards the wide blue yonder. As for road construction financed from EU cohesion fund till 2020 in Estonia, these were confirmed last December.

Where to invest?

Completion of Eastern border

  • Promised by RE, SDE, IRL, KE, EKRE
  • Financed by €1.9m out of 2015 budget, cleaning-up out of RMK (State Forests) budget. The state stands ready to give €2m more. Ought to be completed in 2018.

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre concert hall

  • Promised by RE, SDE, IRL, KE
  • Costs €9m. No-one has ever been against, but the money has not been found

Academy of Arts new building

  • Promised by KE, SDE, RE
  • Financed by EU and the academy itself (out of selling old lots)

Rail Baltic

  • Promised by RE, KE, IRL
  • Building the Estonian part costs €1.1bn, out of which EU pays €650 and Estonia €500m.

School of Fine Arts

  • Promised by RE, SDE, KE
  • At the beginning of the year, Tallinn confirmed detailed plan, the next step is project design

Restoring Haapsalu railway

  • Promised by SDE (analyses), IRL (an option must be found), KE
  • Only analyses have been ordered, the last of which says the restoration costs €60–65m (the railway will be electrified and lengthened from Haapsalu onwards to Rohuküla) or €30–35m (the railway end at Haapsalu, not electrified)

Tallinn Art Hall renovations

  • Promised by SDE, IRL
  • In 2010, Artists’ Association asked culture ministry for support of 5.5 million kroons (almost €320,000)

Ülemiste Joint Terminal

  • Promised by RE, IRL
  • Architectural design contest is completed, the winner declared

Road money

Four-lane Tallinn-Tartu Highway

  • Promised by RE (continuing to build), IRL (Kose-Mäo section first, then total length), KE (we’ll build it into three and four lanes)

Tallinn-Narva Highway

  • Promised by RE (continuing renovation), KE (it into three and four lanes)

Tallinn-Pärnu Highway

  • Promised by RE (construct 2+1 passing-by lanes), IRL (four lanes, till Ikla), KE (fixing Via Baltica in full length)

Ideas to ponder

RE: developing Kalev Stadium into National Stadium; moving Tallinn environmental agencies into one single wooden nature-house; investing into solutions securing clean air in Pirita and Merivälja

SDE: building Kääriku sports centre into Estonian Sports Training Centre

IRL: supporting building of hybrid-conference-centre; beginning building housing units for elderly instead old peoples’ homes; moving Academy of Security Sciences, Defence Resources Agency and Sate Forest Management Centre to Ida-Virumaa; beginning renovations of Old Town in Narva

KE: moving Folk Culture Centre to Viljandi

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