Tree felling had been taking place on approximately 40 hectares of the total 200-hectare site, and will be completed on Saturday, Steven Linkov, Western portfolio manager at the State Defense Investment Centre (RKIK), said.

The cleared area will host supporting infrastructure: administration buildings, fencing and storage facilities at the location, in Tõstamaa, west of the City of Pärnu.

Four companies are lined up to be tenants of the defense park when it is ready, and contracts have so far been concluded with two of them, Estonian firms Nitrotol and Frankenburg. "The next two companies are in the signing phase. We expect to sign a contract with Odin next week, and the fourth company is still in negotiations," he said.

Odin is a British firm which plans to manufacture plastic explosives at the Pärnu County facility. The fourth firm is Infinitum Strike, also an Estonian company, which will produce rocket launch boosters.

Nitrotol — which has been producing military explosives abroad, including mines, since 2019 — already started production at another defense industry park built by RKIK, in Ämari, home to the NATO air base.

"Nitrotol has an operational factory in Ämari. Production is underway. The contract for the Tõstamaa park has now been signed. Design work and environmental impact assessments are in progress. But in general, we could bring in the bulldozer already today," said Jens Haug, Nitrotol board member.

Frankenburg Technologies will mass-produce air defense missiles.

The four firms will cover the forest clearing costs, Linkov said.

"The cost of clearing is to be borne by the entrepreneur. But all other work is carried out by the [state forestry commission] RMK under a contract within the area of governance of the Ministry of Defense – in other words, they will manage our forest. And all revenues generated there will be part of RMK's regular forest management," Linkov explained.

Phase two is expected to begin in the autumn, when the four companies will start constructing their production facilities.

The changed security situation has prompted Estonia to step up its own defense industry and to invite international partners. As well as the Tõstamaa/Ermistu and Ämari sites, a defense park is being planned in Ida-Viru County.

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