Estonian foreign minister urges preparations for Helsinki Tallinn tunnel

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has called for preparations to begin for a fixed connection between Helsinki and Tallinn, Yle reports. Writing in Helsingin Sanomat, he said infrastructure development would have a decisive impact on companies’ competitiveness.

Tsahkna said no significant environmental or geological obstacles, or other factors that would rule out the project, had been identified. He argued that Estonia should therefore begin preparing a state special plan for the connection.

He said stronger business, security and cultural ties between the Nordic and Baltic countries would require better regional connections. Advancing the Helsinki Tallinn tunnel could be the first step in renewed Nordic Baltic infrastructure cooperation and could also accelerate other strategic projects across the region, he wrote.

A rail connection from Helsinki to Tallinn has been under consideration since the 1990s. Alongside Rail Baltica, which Tsahkna described as Estonia’s most significant infrastructure project, he said attention should also turn north.