Estonian firms win tender to supply Rail Baltica with fiber optic cabling ducts
Two Estonian factories have won major international tenders to supply ducts for the under-development Rail Baltica, enabling the high-speed rail's power and communication networks.
The companies, Höhle, based in the village of Lõiuse, Rapla County, and the Rae Municipality-based Pipelife Eesti, will provide infrastructure for the entire 870-kilometer route, from Tallinn to the Lithuanian-Polish border.
Höhle, which makes tubing to house fiber optic cabling, beat out six major foreign firms to win its tender.
Management board member Toomas Koobas told "Aktuaalne kaamera": "This is very important because right now the entire export market is full of challenges. That's why a public sector investment of this volume is extremely important for us as a manufacturer. The specific contract is worth €15 million, and if we consider that it will be spread over five to seven years depending on the pace of Rail Baltica's construction, it could amount to perhaps 10 percent of our annual turnover."
Fiber-optic cables are fed into the Höhle-manufactured tubing. The company is family-owned, and began output 10 years ago with just a couple of employees. Today, Höhle exports 95 percent of its production to European telecoms and infrastructure firms.
Meanwhile, Pipelife Eesti, based in Rae Municipality just outside Tallinn, is supplying cable protection ducts along the entire route. The first ducts have already been delivered to Lithuania. Large-scale construction is currently underway on the main Rail Baltica route in Kohila too, so the ducts will be needed there soon.
"We are currently building the first 9.4-kilometer section of the main line in Rapla, along with the Kohila junction. The Kohila junction includes five structures, all within a one-kilometer radius. We will likely start installing the cable ducts already next week," said Indrek Trei, lead project manager at Verston, overseeing the work.
Other tenders cover sleepers, rails, ballast, and switches, RB Rail CEO Marko Kivila said.
"This is the first contract we have been able to sign and bring into force, with Höhle and Pipelife. The material tenders have in this way already been consolidated and completed. However, this does not mean that companies cannot participate in tenders issued by the builders themselves regarding materials – it's just that these are no longer public procurements," Kivila said.
All the Rail Baltica material tenders have been carried out by the joint venture RB Rail, representing the three countries.
The Estonian section of Rail Baltica is still on course for completion in 2030.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aleksander Krjukov
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera'
