The Tallinn City Government has submitted its budget strategy for 2025-2028 and the implementation plan for the “Tallinn 2035” development strategy to the City Council. The budget strategy serves as a guide for directing the city’s development and creating city budgets over the next four years, considering sustainability and financial feasibility.

According to Tallinn Mayor Jevgeni Ossinovski, the city is maintaining a balanced approach to its budget policy, with any additional spending based on improving the efficiency of the city system. “Firstly, it’s important to emphasize that Tallinn will preserve all existing social benefits and subsidies for residents, as we must support our people during economically challenging times. At the same time, our investment plan is very ambitious in both scale and content. The top priority is education, which includes reconstructing and building new schools and kindergartens to ensure every child has a school place close to home. One of the most significant changes is a more than 100-million-euro investment in public transport, bringing new trams, trolleys, and buses to our streets. We will also launch the construction of the Liivalaia-Kristiine tram line, along with the full reconstruction of roads and the creation of the Kristiine transfer hub. We are continuing to build new green areas and refurbish existing ones, with key projects like the Putukaväil and Klindipark, as well as the redevelopment of Lembitu Park, including the creation of a Ukrainian Garden,” said Ossinovski.

During the strategic period, investments will continue across all city sectors, with the largest share directed toward education, mobility, and city landscape development.

In the field of education, the focus will be on further organizing the school network and comprehensive renovation of school buildings. Every year, four to five kindergartens will be renovated, and the expansion of Tallinn Reaalkool and the renovation of Hiiu School will be completed. New buildings will also be constructed for Kullo hobby center, Tallinn Helen School, and Nõmme Primary School.

In the cultural sector, the construction of the new complex for the Tallinn City Theatre will be completed in 2025. During the strategic period, the development of the botanical garden, city museum, and zoo will continue. In the context of the City Museum, the focus is on investments related to the establishment of an open storage facility. The development of the Tallinn Film Wonderland also continues.

In the sports sector, the renovation of the Kadriorg stadium complex continues, and public sports facilities will be completed as part of the European Capital of Sports 2025 program. Additionally, the construction of an Olympic-sized swimming pool on Varraku Street will proceed.

In the field of social welfare and healthcare, the design of Tallinn Hospital continues, and the construction of several new social welfare buildings and centers for various target groups will begin (including the Käo Support Center, the new building of the Tallinn Children’s Shelter, and the new wing of the Juks Support Center)
In the field of urban construction and planning, a social house will be built on the site of the former Mustamäe district government building, and two social houses will be constructed in Põhja-Tallinn. Large-scale renovation of dormitory-type buildings will begin with the support of climate funding. The pilot project for installing elevators in five-story buildings will continue.

In the field of mobility, the budget strategy period aims to invest in improving the convenience and environmental sustainability of public transport, and to consider the needs of all road users in the reconstruction of roads and streets. Plans include renewing the public transport fleet and investing in the necessary infrastructure for its use. During the reconstruction of streets, bicycle paths will also be built. Key projects include the Main Street project, Peterburi tee, Liivalaia, Suur-Ameerika, Endla and Tulika streets, Linnu tee, Rahumäe tee, and the reconstruction of roads in the Nõmme center, along with the construction of stormwater infrastructure. With external funding, the construction of the Pelguranna tramway, Liivalaia and Suur-Ameerika tramways, as well as bicycle paths and mobility hubs, will begin. To make light traffic safer, it is planned to build underpasses for Endla Street and the Rail Baltic route during the strategy period.

In the field of technical networks, the plan is to promote the implementation of sustainable and smart lighting solutions for street lighting and to accelerate the transition of outdoor lighting to LED lights. Additionally, more funds will be directed towards improving the outdoor lighting of parks and kindergartens. To more efficiently manage stormwater, the separation of combined sewer systems will continue, along with the construction of collectors and preliminary channels.

In the fields of urban landscape and environmental protection, the development of the city’s green network, the maintenance of city parks, beaches, and green areas, the establishment and renewal of playgrounds, and the development of cemeteries and circular economy centers will continue. Reconstruction works are planned in many city parks. Major investments include the construction of the Pollinator Highway and Klindipark, as well as the Järveotsa promenade. The comprehensive reconstruction of Lembitu Park, including the establishment of the Ukrainian Garden, the maintenance of Pae Park and the Harku Lake beach area, and the development of the green areas of the Old Town bastion belt are planned.

To finance investments, the city’s own funds, possible support from the EU funding period to the maximum extent possible, and state budget support will be used. It is also planned to partially finance investments through loans, while keeping the city’s debt burden at a moderate level.

During the budget strategy period, the city’s main budget policy goals remain to keep the primary activity result positive, which allows covering at least the principal repayments and interest expenses of loans. To keep the growth of the city’s primary activity expenses below the growth of the city’s primary activity revenues and to maintain the city’s debt burden at a moderate level. Additionally, the goal remains to ensure a liquidity buffer for city expenses, which covers at least the city’s two-week expenses, which is at least 40 million euros.

The budget strategy for 2025-2028 includes forecasts of the city’s financial possibilities for the next four years, based on the circumstances and factors known at the time of the strategy’s preparation.

Based on the budget strategy, the target levels of revenues and annual expenditure limits for the city’s administrative areas are determined. The strategy also provides residents and cooperation partners with an overview of the city’s development directions and financial possibilities for their implementation.