Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Industry, Investments, Markets and Companies, Woodwork

The company has informed the Ministry of Finance of Estonia that it has started negotiations with a view to finding an alternative location with the rural municipalities of Rapina, Voru, Setomaa and Saarde, and that the addition of more municipalities to that list can not be excluded.

"Tentative consultations give us trust that communities in several regions are prepared to consider supporting the initiation of the process of the plan and assessment of impacts and the conduct of relevant surveys," Est-For Invest board members Margus Kohava and Aadu Polli say in their letter to Minister of Public Administration Janek Maggi.

They say that in the course of the consultations that have taken place the need for further negotiations has been revealed and that it will take the municipalities about two months to shape their stance. Since Est-For wishes to present also the outcomes of the consultations to the government, it is seeking additional time for the presentation of its positions on the draft regulation to terminate the national planning procedure.

"The outcomes of these consultations and the decisions to be adopted by the municipality councils may have a substantial effect on the comments, proposals and positions to be submitted by Est-For to the aforementioned draft," the executives said.

Est-For, which is supposed to come up with its positions by October 12, 2018, wants the deadline to be extended until November 30., 2018.

Following protests by local residents and opposition from the council and the city government of Tartu, the government decided in June to initiate the termination of the procedure for the preparation of a national designated spatial plan started in spring 2017. The corresponding draft decision has been prepared by the Ministry of Finance by now.

Est-For has said that their plant would process about 3.3 mln tons of paperwood and give up to 750,000 tons of output per year, and would export its output.