Tallinn City Hall to be transformed into international conference and concert centre

The Estonian capital joins two strategic partners for the project worth about EUR 300 million

The City of Tallinn signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday with shipping giant Tallink Grupp and Infortar, one of the largest investment companies and a major shareholder of Tallink, to transform the dilapidated City Hall into an international conference and concert centre. Apart from a concert hall with 5000 seats capacity and conference halls, the complex will have a harbour, hotel and a business centre of its own.

“Tallinn has found strategic partners with whom we can cooperate in the City Hall development. The City Hall will be an international conference and concert centre that will revitalize the tourism sector and the economy at large, create jobs and generate profits for the city in the future. Creating a passenger port next to the City Hall will bring enough tourists to the centre, making the investment profitable,” said the Mayor of Tallinn Mihhail Kõlvart, quoted by the city website.

Tallinn City Hall at present. Photo by City of Tallinn/Facebook

The City of Tallinn, AS Tallink Grupp and AS Infortar will establish a joint venture for the project, estimated to cost approximately EUR 300 million.

Special conservation measures

The partners will launch an architectural competition to find the best concept for the new City Hall complex. After the procedure of obtaining necessary permits and concluding of relevant contracts is over, the construction is expected to take three years. The process will also require adherence to special conservation policies, as the City Hall is a heritage site.

According to Paavo Nõgene, CEO of Tallink Grupp, Tallinn needs new opportunities for tourism development in order to successfully compete with Helsinki, Riga and Stockholm. And the projected City Hall complex will do the right job, bringing big conferences and high-quality cultural events to the Estonian capital.