Estonia pressed for extra cash to pay for reconstruction of National Library in 2022

TALLINN – The state real estate management company RKAS has not enough funds to proceed with the reconstruction of the building of the Estonian National Library in Tallinn, as  both tenders in the public procurement significantly exceed the initial estimated cost of the works in 2022. 

"As both tenders exceed the budget, we cannot finalize the evaluation protocol for the tenders, as there are no decisions on the possibility of covering the cost increase," RKAS spokesperson Annely Jogeva told BNS on Tuesday.

RKAS, the National Library, the National Archives, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research are now preparing materials for the government with different scenarios to discuss ways to cover the increase in costs.

The state budget strategy sets aside a total of 53 million euros for the reconstruction of the National Library in 2022-2025, including 7.8 million euros for next year. However, due to global supply problems, construction prices have recently started to rise rapidly.

RKAS announced a public procurement for the renovation of the building of the National Library at Tonismagi, Tallinn in July this year. Two tenders were received by the deadline in September, which significantly exceeded the 7.8 million euros earmarked for the project next year.