Revival of the US$24bn project by the new Estonian government would eventually see the Baltic countries linked to the rest of the European high-speed rail network, reported Bloomberg.
China’s Touchstone Capita Partners has pledged around US$17bn toward the project, although some quarters in both Finland and Estonia view Chinese finance of such a critical infrastructure project with suspicion.
Construction of the tunnel, which at 100km-long (62 mile) will be twice the length of the Channel Tunnel, will require the creation of at least one artificial island. A 2018 study commissioned by both countries demonstrated that, as a private-public partnership with 40% of the cost covered by EU aid, the project could be economically feasible.
