Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Legislation, Railways, Technology, Transport

Indrek Orav, head of Rail Baltica Estonia, and Baiba Rubesa, head of RB Rail AS, put their digital signatures to the Estonian Declaration of Intent on Digital Construction at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications in Tallinn on Wednesday.

Previously, the City of Tallinn, the Estonian state real estate management company RKAS, the Estonian Road Administration and the state owned company Port of Tallinn have joined the declaration.

"One of the goals of the joint venture is to streamline the planning and building processes of Rail Baltica as well as to optimize the life-cycle costs of the project. Building Information Modeling is an efficient way to make it achievable," said Baiba Rubesa, head of RB Rail AS that is the central coordinator of the Rail Baltica project.

Indrek Orav, manager of Rail Baltica Estonia OU, said that the implementation of best practices in digitization is important for the Rail Baltica project, as in the event of successful implementation, it would help reduce the cost of project materials and financial and human resources.

"The Rail Baltica project joining the digitization initiative will undoubtedly send a signal to the construction sector and the designers wishing to participate in future calls for projects," said Orav.

According to Risto Vahenurm, head of the Department of Digital Construction at the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the current experience from neighboring countries using BIM shows that it can save up to 20% on construction costs.

"It is highly welcome that Rail Baltica Estonia and RB Rail AS are taking the direction of using BIM principles and technology already in the early stages of the Rail Baltica project. In addition, it is noteworthy that the first international company joined the Estonian Declaration of Intent, which is a good basis for international BIM-collaboration," Vahenurm added.

Creating and sharing digital building information is key to improving the performance and quality of the construction industry. Through the modeling and management of building information within the Rail Baltica project, it is possible to enhance the functionality and quality of the facility throughout its life-cycle, while reducing construction and life-cycle costs, the Estonian ministry said.