OREANDA-NEWS. July 12, 2012. Nordecon AS and SA Kardla Sadam entered into an agreement today for the construction of a visitors’ port in Kardla. The contract is valued at almost 4.1 million euros before VAT.
 
Approximately 3.2 million euros of the budget for the port will be covered via the measure supporting regional competitiveness financed from the European Fund for Regional Development and overseen by the Ministry of the Interior and Enterprise Estonia. Self-financing is being provided by the City of Kardla.
 
“It’s great to see that Hiiumaa’s capital is set to become a true maritime gateway,” said Jaano Vink, chairman of the management board of Nordecon AS. “It’ll give locals better access to the sea and attract tourists and others to the island. A safe, modern port – however big or small – is like a calling card for an island, and paves the way for new relationships that are important to the local economy and community. The contribution our engineering and construction departments have made to the development of Estonia’s ports over the years has been pretty remarkable – we’ve built and rebuilt facilities from the islands in the west of the country all the way over to Sillamae in the north-east, so it’s nice to see that our skills and experience continue to be valued as highly as they are.”
 
In the course of construction work, around 35,000 m3 of dredging operations will be carried out, with the planned depth of the basin being 3.5 metres; approximately 500 metres of seawalls will be constructed; and the multi-purpose area of the port which is also designed for vessel maintenance will be expanded, with around 9000 m2 of land being reclaimed to do so. The port will have enough space for a total of 56 yachts and small vessels to dock. Access roads and paths and car parks will also be constructed.
 
Construction is scheduled to commence in July, with a deadline of December 2013.
 
The Port of Kardla is a foundation that was established by the City of Kardla to manage and operate the port and to raise money and other resources for its reconstruction. It aims to develop the port as a harbour for yachts and small vessels which offers high-quality services to tourists and locals alike.
 
Preparatory work for the restoration of the port has been ongoing since the early 1990s. Over the years a number of surveys have been carried out as part of various projects which have highlighted the need for the construction of a new port in order to breathe new life into the local economy and community.