Money floods building sector

  • 2011-08-17
  • From wire reports

TALLINN - 150 million euros of money that Estonia has earned from selling its pollution quotas over the past year and a half, has to be used to improve the energy effectiveness of buildings, which construction firms now say has resulted in too much money coming into the sector in too short a time, reports Postimees.
Nearly 500 local municipality buildings, schools, kindergartens, sports buildings, will have to be made more heating efficient. Estonian State Real Estate Co. has hired around 20 people who have to make sure all the support is allocated.
The rules on using the proceeds the state has gained from selling CO2 quotas are tough, and one of them is the deadline of the project: the end of 2012.

Merko Ehitus board member Alar Lagus says that that is problem, since a lot of money has to be used very quickly. “Deadlines are too short, the whole project could be stretched over 3-4 years, then the sums of money would be spread more evenly,” said Lagus.

The CO2 money is not distributed to the whole construction market, but mainly to companies who provide thermal insulation solutions for houses, as well as to companies operating in the ventilation and heating solutions spheres. There will be major demand at the market for a small period of time, prices will surge and there will be a shortage of the necessary workforce. During the boom years there were a lot of people employed in the construction sphere in Estonia, but during the crisis people left, either abroad or to another profession.

State Real Estate Co. communications manager Madis Idnurm said that despite the tense schedule, so far no construction has been delayed, but there is a danger of that, especially if procurement processes were disputed.