South-East Estonia

SOUTH-EAST ESTONIA Gateway between EU an Russia

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South-East Estonia Põlva County

RAKVERE

TALLINN

JÕHVI

RAPLA

PAIDE

JÕGEVA

VILJANDI

u s i p P e

TARTU

PÄRNU KURESSAARE

k e

Valga County

HAAPSALU

L a

KÄRDLA

Võr tsj är v

kv a

Estonia in Europe

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Võru County

La

P

PÕLVA

VALGA

VÕRU

Population: 101,522 (01.01.2012).

Population density: 15.57 inhabitants/km².

Size: 6,519 km² – 14.4% of the total territory of Estonia.

Labour force: 42,800 (01.01.2012).

Most important industries: wood and furniture, food, metal, transport and logistics.

Distances from South-East Estonia: – to Tallinn – 240 km, about 3h by car (intl. airport, intl. ferry port), – to Tartu – 68 km, about 50 min by car (Estonian R&D and educational centre, intl. airport), – to Riga – 180 km, about 2h and 30 min by car (capital of Latvia, intl. airport and port), – to St.Petersburg – 400 km, about 4h and 45 min by car.

Five good reasons to invest in South-East Estonia: ➊ Strategic location – between trade routes to Russia and EU – the region

is well located on junctions of international transport corridors – PskovLuhamaa/Koidula-Tallinn/Riga roads and St. Petersburg-Pskov-Koidula-Tallinn/ Riga railways. ➋ Skilled workforce supported by vocational centres – competence centre on wood processing and furniture manufacturing provides access to top level services, training and expertise in the sector. The potential is further strengthened by South-East Estonian wood cluster and by proximity of universities in Tartu. ➌ Skilled and comparatively low cost workforce supported by vocational centres – considerable number of free workforce is available both on Estonian as well as on Latvian side of the border. Võru and Valga Vocational Training Centres provide flexible retraining programmes on demand in mechatronics, IT, logistics, wood and metal processing etc. ➍ Business oriented and flexible administration – county administration and local municipalities are devoted to creating good conditions for entrepreneurship including services for investors. ➎ Availability of industrial and business land/infrastructure – the region has plenty of free land and unused facilities with favourable prices. Industrial parks are being developed in Valga, Tõrva, Võru and Põlva as well as logistic centres around Koidula and Luhamaa border points. Valga free zone offers opportunities for tax-free trade.

„Acquisition of South-Estonian heating company Võru Soojus was our first investment outside Germany. Võru is a town with great potential which – as Estonia in general – can be described as a trustworthy and open business environment with good investment climate.“ Michael G. Feist CEO of Danpower GmbH, Chairman of the Board Commercial Director of Stadtwerke Hannover AG

Biggest companies

Contacts: Põlva County www.polvamaa.ee/invest invest@polvamaa.ee +372 5918 3355, Jaanus Salum Development Center of Põlva County Valga County www.valgamaa.ee/invest invest@valgamaa.ee +372 511 3932, Elo Mets Development Center of Valga County Võru County www.vaa.ee/investor vaa@vaa.ee +372 5855 0202, Ivika Nõgel Development Center of Võru County