Nordecon AS entered into an agreement with the Estonian Ministry of Defence today for the construction of the auxiliary buildings of Ämari Air Base and the infrastructure needed to service them. The agreement is valued at 10.85 million euros without VAT.
“This spring is proving to be rather different to last spring, thankfully, with more major projects being added to the building construction portfolio,” explained Avo Ambur, a member of the management board of Nordecon AS. “So far this year we’ve already started on the buildings for the Koidula border guard station and the student accommodation in Paide for the Järva County Vocational Education Centre, and now we’ve signed a pretty big contract with the Ministry of Defence. Winning the tender for the construction of Ämari’s support structures underscores the trust in Nordecon as a partner not only at the national level, but also in the eyes of NATO.”
Ambur says the procurement will see the construction at Ämari Air Base of a separate hangar for currently on-call air security craft, premises and a garage and workshop for the vehicles needed to service the base, a medical centre, a simplified passenger terminal for army officers arriving at and leaving from the base, an interim warehouse for goods handling and nitrogen and oxygen storage facilities. The terminal and warehouse will cover an area of 2498 m2, while the aircraft hangar will be 2190 m2 in size and the garage and workshop 2523 m2.
The air base will also be given a total of 50,837 m2 of new asphalt covering, 8050 m2 of crushed stone coating and 7239 m2 of concrete coating. Around 10,000 metres of sewerage, waste water and other drainage channels and water pipes will also be constructed.
Construction work on the auxiliary buildings and support structures will begin in May and is due to be completed within 11 months.
Renovation work on Ämari Air Base, jointly funded by Estonia and NATO, is the first major NATO security investment in the country. The financing of projects related to NATO infrastructure takes place through the NATO Security Investment Programme. 15 different projects at Ämari Air Base are being funded through the programme, to a total value of 32 million euros. According to the Military Defence Development Plan 2009–2018, upon its completion the base will be capable of receiving transport aircraft and of operating as a base for destroyer aircraft providing air security. Defensive structures erected in new Member States with the support of NATO also send out a strong message of the effectiveness of collective defence.
