ERR News – Following up on its pledge to find funding alternatives for the new National Museum building in Tartu, the state real estate management company Riigi Kinnisvara AS (RKAS) has sketched out a plan to back the project from a number of sources.
The 78.5 million euros needed for the museum's construction and furnishing will come from the state budget, the Cultural Endowment and RKASs own funds, with any shortfalls to be covered by a loan that the Cultural Endowment can pay off over several years, RKAS said in a March 8 statement.
Whether credit will be nee-ded at all and what size it will be will become clear after the government makes a decision on the funding plan and the procurement process for the construction is complete, the agency said.
The future of the project was thrown into some doubt in February when the European Commission once again turned down the museum's grant application, which would have brought in 32 million euros for the construction.
However, both Minister of Culture Rein Lang and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip have pledged their support for the project and said that it would be completed regardless of the EC decision.
In order to push the construction forward, RKAS and the Ministry of Culture would need to build consensus on the public sector investments by April, when the Cabinet is expected to approve next year's budget strategy.
