1. Põllu tn 20 (area 7809 m², intended purpose 95% production land, 5% business land);
2. Põllu tn 21 (area 6671 m², purpose 95% production land, 5% business land);
3. Põllu tn 22 (area 9677 m², purpose 95% production land, 5% business land).
The deadline for the first stage of the auction is February 1, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. The auction participant must submit a written offer to the information hall of the Võru City Government at Jüri tn 11, Võru city.
The benefits of southeastern Estonia as an industrial area:
Located near the border – Southeastern Estonia is good location for both domestic and foreign markets. International transport corridors pass through the area.
A strong wood & furniture industry, successful food, and metal processing companies – Southeastern Estonia is the home for dozens of mid-sized wood and furniture producers, of which most export their goods. Processing companies employ more than 6000 people in the area.
Preparing qualified workforce – three big vocational education schools train over 2000 students in the area (Võrumaa Vocational Education Center, Valgamaa Vocational Education Center, Räpina School of Horticulture). Next to the vocational education center in Võru lies the Centre of Competence for Wood Processing and Furniture Manufacturing (TSENTER), which connects the public sector, private industry, and schools. All counties have local development centres too, which help and counsel existing and starting local businesses.
Beautiful nature, a good environment, and a strong regional identity – Southeastern Estonia attracts new residents with scenic views and safe towns that feature all necessary institutions and communal services.
Photo: Robi Zuts
Currently, a 5.5-hectare sized new industrial area is being developed in Võru town, with the future potential to expand up to 40 hectares. The initiative to build came from the local government, not entrepreneurs. “If the local government is not interested in their residents having stable jobs, who would be?” states the mayor Anti Allas rhetorically.
According to Allas, the business world is constantly changing – manufacturing companies look for new ways to expand and become more effective. Soviet era warehouses and infrastructure is not enough, they need modern facilities and equipment to grow and evolve.
Since Võru is located in the southeastern corner of Estonia, processes and arrangements are not as fast as in the capital. On the other hand, Võru has a very strong attraction for families and individuals. We have more jobs than people – so we employ people in the whole southeastern region. As a regional center, we have the responsibility to offer businesses good conditions and help them. We have seen that entrepreneurs are very interested in moving to one location, where they have everything in one place – necessary infrastructure, joint operation possibilities with other businesses and modern facilities”, states Allas.
The town of Võru has years of experience in creating new industrial areas. Together with local private businesses, Võrukivi industrial area was built in 2010-2012. The town built the roads, communication lines and installed sewerage and district heating. The local government also purchased a piece of land from KEK, in order to set up proper access roads and infrastructure. “The local businesses would have struggled without modern infrastructure, because building it themselves is too expensive”, explains Allas. Võrukivi industrial area did not fill up instantly but needed some time. However, Allas thinks it is only natural that businesses take some time to relocate and move their operations.
As the regional center, we are interested that more residents move in the area and have good opportunities to work and settle down.
The first stage of Võrusoo area development
Total cost of creating the Võrusoo industrial area is 1 428 292€, of which 214 244€ is funded by the town of Võru. A sum of 192 900€ is added to the total, which is the cost of purchasing necessary land from the state. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund in order to strengthen regional competitiveness.
By 2026, the town hopes to have completed the first stage of development – 7 finished manufacturing plots where at least 8 companies will hopefully operate, employing 75 people. In the future, 20-30 more businesses can move there, offering work to 200-500 people.
54 bigger manufacturing companies are located near Võrusoo industrial area, where qualified workforce is valued highly. To name a few – Cristella VT OÜ (frozen bakery and pastry products) with 300 employees, Wermo AS (furniture production) with 60 employees, Valio Eesti AS owned Võru Juustutööstus (cheese production) and Võru Hallid AS (metal structures) operate in the area.
Construction has already begun in the industrial area, the first bids for the plots are expected to receive by 17th of October. “We’ll have to wait and see how interested the businesses are. When we were designing and preparing the project a couple of years back, companies were very interested in moving to the new area. It is possible, that the changed economic conditions and times of crisis have altered the businesses’ future plans. On the other hand, times of recession and growth are normal to the economy and while the current situation may slow down the demand for the industrial area, overall demand should still be relatively strong”, says Allas.
Plot purchasing conditions are very favorable for the businesses. Starting square meter price is 4€, which is 2-3 times lower than market price. However, the new business then has an obligation to build new warehouses and necessary buildings, start production and create new jobs for the town.
Help from the municipality is much appreciated
According to the mayor, selling cheap plots eliminates market inefficiencies, which have been created by uneven regional development. “I’m convinced that Estonian liberal economic system has let us down a bit. The role of the local government in supporting manufacturing and housing development can not be understated, which can be seen by the example of Võru’s Sister Cities in France and Finland. In more rural areas, the local government has to put more effort into building the infrastructure and helping businesses expand, which is why we have also contributed to the development of private houses. For example, eight young families who wanted to build a house were able to purchase plots from us with a good price. We are also thinking about further developing rental houses and suburbs. As the regional center, we are interested that more residents move in the area and have good opportunities to work and settle down. We don’t want to hinder or block the new developments of private businesses, but rather cooperate with them. According to this principle, we have created favorable land purchasing terms.”
We welcome all businesses to Võru industrial area, who match our set conditions and requirements and create new jobs to the area. Currently we have 7 available plots to offer, ranging from 6000 to 10 000 square meters in size.
During their 10 years of history, Võrukivi tech park has gotten to a point where they need to expand their operations, because all available plots have already been taken. Board member of Selista Ehitus OÜ Indrek Klampe says that technically there are two available plots in the area, but they are shaped in a way that makes building warehouses and processing plants very difficult. “Currently we are in the process of negotiating with the town to acquire more land. Then we’d have five available plots instead of two. The area has all necessary access roads and connection points so why not use them, and create new plots”, says Klampe.
Võrukivi tech park has been in development for 15 years already. There used to be a brickworks, but those buildings have been long demolished and now many companies and factories operate here, such has KPG Kaubanduse OÜ (Magaziin retail chain), Kagu Elekter and Estelaxe (building chairs and seats for trains and concert halls). The tech park is located next to the Tallinn-Tartu-Võru-Luhamaa highway, which makes it a good location for both companies selling to domestic and foreign markets. Currently there are 14 production and business plots in the tech park.
Photo: private collection
A modern and comfortable living environment
Võru may seem like a remote town on the borderland, but the local living environment satisfies all modern requirements and demands, states Klampe. We have all necessary services and facilities – from educational institutions to good infrastructure. “I’d say that Võru is a good place to live and work in. The local government is business-friendly and cooperative, which is very important for entrepreneurs”, says Klampe. Selista Ehitus has years of experience in quality design-build projects – they have built most of the nearby manufacturing buildings here.
Businesses are always interested what is the workforce situation in the area. Thanks to Võru County Vocational Training Centre, there are many potential qualified workers in the field of woodworks, metal, mechatronics and culinary. “Labor force is an actual topic in the whole area – there is a lack of employees, especially if you’re looking for special skills and knowledge”, says Klampe. There used to be many people commuting to Finland for work, but this trend is changing – nowadays, local companies pay wages good enough that there’s not much point in going to Finland anymore.
Photo: private collection
Mayor of Võru: The technology park has been a very important investment for the town
According to the mayor Anti Allas, Võrukivi tech park has been a very important investment for the whole town, because it has attracted many new investors and companies.
“It can be quite expensive for the entrepreneurs to build and establish everything themselves, so having the city build the plots with necessary connection points has been a great help. It has been a joint effort between businesses, the local government and different funding programs to create the tech parks”, says Allas.
Allas states that the town of Võru is currently in the process of creating new industrial areas, which will be sold with a starting price of a third of the current market price.
