Tallinn should take after Helsinki and build a metro in Tallinn, our partner Paul Künnap has suggested in the Estonian daily Eesti Päevaleht. Building a metro in Tallinn is not something that is currently discussed in Estonia, but Paul says it would give Tallinn a huge boost.
Paul debunks three myths that naysayers have used to ditch the idea:
- We are too poor and weak, goes the first argument. Yet, Helsinki was of the same size as Tallinn and much poorer when the city decided to construct a metro in 1969. Tallinn would not be the smallest city with a metro, and private investors would provide the funding that state sources lack.
- The second argument against the metro stipulates that Helsinki’s granite soil is much more favourable for such construction than the soft Tallinn soil. True. However, technology has evolved since, and the machine digging tunnels in Stockholm can successfully do the job also in Tallinn.
- Third, a lack of vision and will is cited. A serious argument indeed, but even will and vision can be found. “Thinking big is only up to us,“ Paul concludes.
Our real estate partner Paul Künnap has been speaking up for large industrial, energy and infrastructure projects for years, calling for the Estonian authorities to start making things happen instead of delaying and turning private investors away.
