Elering to sign a contract worth 43.4 million euros to build the onshore section of Balticconnector

On Monday, Elering signed an agreement with joint tenderers AS EG Ehitus, AS Scanweld and UAB Alvora to build the Balticconnector Estonian onshore pipeline – the Kiili-Paldiski gas pipeline – the cost of the works of which is 43.4 million euros.

According to the schedule, the construction of a 55 km long pipeline from Kiili to Pakrineeme in Paldiski will take 18 months. The diameter of the pipe is 700 mm and the operating pressure is up to 54 bars. “This is the biggest gas pipeline construction work in Estonia since the restoration of independence,” commented Elering’s Chairman of the Board, Taavi Veskimägi.

The pipe will mainly be installed in a trench by open-cut method. Where the pipeline crosses with bigger roads and railway, directional drilling will be used and the pipe will be covered with protective casing. The gas pipeline will cross the Tallinn roundabout and Via Baltika in several places, and in three places with an existing railway and with the possible route of Rail Baltic.

The Kiili-Paldiski gas pipeline passes through the Kiili, Saku, Saue and Lääne-Harju municipalities. There are more than 250 properties belonging to landowners on this route. Elering will shortly inform the owners of every property on the gas route about the imminent start of the works. Also, the constructor will be in contact with the owners before the start of the construction in a particular section.

The Kiili-Paldiski gas pipeline is part of the Estonian-Finnish gas connection Balticconnector project. On the Estonian mainland, gas compression stations in Paldiski and Puiatu and a gas metering station in Karksi along with a Lilli pipeline intersection near the Estonian-Latvian border are also part of the Balticconnector cluster.

The construction of Balticconnector will enable the creation of a regional gas market covering the Baltic states and Finland and will increase the security of gas supply in the area. The European Union is supporting the construction of the Balticconnector cluster with 206 million euros. The total cost of the project is approximately 300 million euros.