📋 Tender Overview
At yesterdays discussion of green policy by the government cabinet it was recognized that in the coming years it is primarily necessary to deal with the concerns of shrinking and urban sprawl and to cooperate even more at the local level in space creation than before. Also the focus of the coming years is the continued modernization of the existing housing stock and the digitalization of the construction sector.The discussion focused on the recommendations of the green policy report prepared by the State Chancellery in the spring in the field of spatial planning and buildings which could help to realize the green goals.According to the Minister of State Administration Riina Solmani the so-called urban urbanization trend continues to be a challenge today. Our centers of attraction are spreading out which does not mean that the rural areas are getting stronger but on the contrary the population continues to increase below Tallinn at the expense of the rest of the regions he noted. In the spatial plan however the focus must be on strengthening the existing settlements for example by reducing the dispersion of the land under construction and densifying the population in the centers.The report points out that for the sustainable development of spatial planning it is necessary to continue training and advising state institutions and local governments and local governments must cooperate with each other more than before in spatial planning. Minister Solman rejects the reports point of view as if municipalities today lack the ability to direct spatial development in particular. They actually have a lot of independence when it comes to planning - it is possible to direct development with a general plan a special plan or a detailed plan and the states plans must also be consulted he explained. Rather it would be necessary to support municipalities in other ways such as in the form of decisions on spatial data and directing investments and subsidies. To this end we agree with the proposal to create a Spatial Authority based on the states existing resources.From the point of view of the buildings the report states that the renovation of the housing stock is taking place too slowly today in both the private and public sectors. The development of the reconstruction of apartment buildings in Estonia is indeed a success story at the European Union level but in reality the modernization of living spaces must continue to be supported and accelerated. The prerequisite for continuation is the development of financing awareness and technology in which we are making great strides both with the 330 million euro grant money and with the long-term research and development program LIFE IP BuildEst said Minister of Economy and Infrastructure Riina Sikkut .In addition the report emphasizes the need to start evaluating the CO2 footprint of the life cycle of buildings and to digitize the construction sector which the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications is also currently leading. To ensure a good living environment and the viability of the construction industry digitization is unavoidable. This allows for example to assess and reduce the climate impact of buildings and increase the competitiveness of our construction sector explained Sikkut. In the construction sector the state has launched various activities in the form of e-jump support an e-construction platform that brings together digital services the procedural environment of the building register as well as for example the development of the planning procedure information system.The green policy report was prepared last spring the document describes the necessity of the green revolution and what sectoral activities have already been carried out in Estonia and what needs to be done in the near future.As the next step the State Chancellery the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications will draw up an action plan based on the proposals made in the report which will be submitted to the Government of the Republic for approval.
