Last Wednesday the Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Taavi Aas signed with 16 parties an agreement in the field of construction with the aim of taking the construction sector in Estonia to a new level. The development plan was drawn up in cooperation with the public and the private sectors. The signing parties are representatives of the companies of the sector, local governments, the state, and higher education institutions.

The aim of the plan is to take the productivity of the Estonian construction sector to the top of Europe in the next twenty years. “The long-term view sets the premise for that and also for the increase of the quality of our living environment,” noted Minister Aas.

According to Aivars Alt, the director of the Institute of Civil Engineering of TTK UAS, the agreement is a landmark for the construction sector. “Everybody says that the construction sector needs to pay more attention to saving the world and keep up with other industries. Now the actions are agreed on a national level”.

The long-term view includes seven steps of cooperation within the sector. These include, for example, improving the capacity of local governments, development of innovative techniques and smart customer principles, and increasing export and productivity.

The agreement for the long-term view in the construction sector was signed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Estonian Association of Architects, Estonian Association of Construction Entrepreneurs, Estonian Association of Civil Engineers, Estonian Association of Architectural and Consulting Engineering Companies, Association of Construction Material Producers of Estonia, Estonian Association of Infrastructure Construction, Estonian Association of Spatial Planners, Estonian Woodhouse Association, Estonian Digital Construction Cluster, Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn University of Technology, TTK University of Applied Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tallinn University, and the cities of Tallinn and Tartu.