On Monday, September 18, a festive event took place during the construction of the Rimi Logistics Centre near Saue: a rafter wreath was brought down, which in folk tradition marks the moment when the roof has reached its final height and it is time to remember the builders with a rich meal as a sign of gratitude. Time flies, barely a month and a half ago the cornerstone was laid on the building, in the spring of 2025, in addition to the 18,000 square meter distribution center, Rimi's head office and central kitchen will open their doors here. The building is being built by INF Ehitus.

Infortar and Alexela started expanding the biomethane plants located in Oisu in Järva County and Ilmatsalu in Tartu County, as a result of which the plants can accept more food waste than before.

"We are taking the next step in local gas production - if until now we mainly produced biomethane from animal manure, now we can use food industry and other biodegradable residues as raw material more than before. This gives the food industries wider opportunities to participate in the circular economy," said Kristjan Stroom, CEO of Eesti Biogaas OÜ, a joint company of Alexela and Infortar. "Biomethane plants leave no footprints and solve several formulas at the same time - after agricultural and food industry waste, the next problem to tackle could be the reception and processing of urban residents' bio-waste, the plants are technically ready for this, in addition, it requires adaptation of national regulations, decisions of municipalities and organisation of logistics".

The production capacity of the three green gas plants opened two years ago with the support of a EUR 30 million investment will increase by a third after the expansion works, thus increasing the role of Eesti Biogaas as the largest producer of biomethane in the Baltics in achieving the goals of the green revolution. During the expansion, digesters and production equipment will be added. Construction works at the stations will be carried out by EG Ehitus.

The major customers of biomethane are the public transport companies of the cities Tartu, Rakvere and Pärnu, biomethane can be purchased as motor fuel at all Eesti Gaas and Alexela gas stations across Estonia. The annual amount of manure of one dairy cow can produce 200 kg of biomethane, which can be used to drive 5,000 km. In one household, 130 kg of biowaste is generated during the year, and the biomethane produced from it can drive a car 200 km.

Biomethane is a clean and high-quality motor fuel suitable for all CNG vehicles. The performance of an engine running on biomethane is the same as a gasoline engine, but it works more quietly and consumes significantly less fuel, the price of which is also 2-3 times cheaper. In addition to public transport, domestic passenger and freight transport could also be switched to green gas. Switching to local biomethane is today the only existing climate-neutral and competitive solution in the passenger and freight transport sectors to achieve the 2030 climate goals.

Biomethane, or green gas, is produced mainly from biodegradable waste, manure, urine and food waste. During the additional processing and purification of biogas, biomethane, or green gas, with a calorific value similar to natural gas is produced. Biomethane is the cleanest and most soot-free fuel that can be used in transport, only carbon dioxide and water vapor are released when burning biomethane. The residue of the fermentation process of the biomethane plant, or digestate, is transported to a storage or lagoon and from there to the field. Digestate is a high-quality and certified organic fertilizer from which plants can easily acquire nitrogen and phosphorus. Unlike manure, digestate has no smell and a lot of harmful methane remains unreleased into the environment.

Eesti Gaas, the largest private energy company in the Baltic states and Finland, will more than triple its LNG supplies this year – compared to last year's five LNG cargoes, the company will bring 16 shiploads of LNG to the region this year.

"One third of the LNG imports to the Baltic region and Finland come through Eesti Gaas - large volumes and direct contracts with the leading LNG suppliers allow us to offer our customers reliable and affordable supplies and increase our market share," said Margus Kaasik, Chairman of the Managment Board of Eesti Gaas.

"In less than a year, we made a complete turnaround to LNG of Western origin, the new supply routes from Norway and the United States were established and work well today, this has given the regional gas market more security and also helped bring down the price,“ Kaasik noted.

"Heading towards the new heating season, our gas consumers can have peace of mind - European gas storages are full and there will be enough gas. Towards winter, the price of gas is expected to rise somewhat, but according to all assumptions, the upcoming winter will be easier for consumers than the previous one," said Kaasik.

Of the LNG deliveries ordered by Eesti Gaas this year, four have come to Lithuania's Klaipeda and eight to Finland's Inkoo terminal. Until the end of the year, one more cargo to Klaipeda and three to Inkoo have been agreed. The company's major supply partners are the international energy groups Vitol and Total and Equinor of Norwegian origin. Eesti Gaas was the first to start using the new Finnish Inkoo terminal.

From last autumn's peak price of 2.85 euros/m³, the price for Eesti Gaas' household customers has fallen by more than 84 percent to 0.46 euros/m3 today. Larger gas price reductions took place in December of last year and in February of this year, when Eesti Gaas reduced the price of natural gas by 35 and 50 percent, respectively.

Operating in five markets - Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland – Eesti Gaas grew last year to become the largest private energy company in the Baltic and Finland region. The company offers its customers natural gas in the form of pipeline gas, compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) and manages the largest gas network in Estonia and Latvia. Eesti Gaas is actively engaged in international energy trade and develops a renewable energy portfolio in the form of solar energy and biomethane production and sales. On export markets the company carries Elenger name.

In addition to the 18,000 square meter logistics centre, Rimi's 4,000 m2 head office and over 2,000 square meter central kitchen will be located in the building to be completed in the spring of 2025 in Laagri, Gate Tallinn business park.

"The real estate sector today offers opportunities for growth. We want significantly expand our real estate portfolio and bring it to the same level as our shipping and energy investments. The development of the Rimi logistics center is an important project for us and confirms the trust of a large international group," said Ain Hanschmidt, CEO of Infortar.

"We have been looking for a long time and considering various options for the development of a new office and a central warehouse - I believe that we have found the right location and a strong cooperation partner who will enable us to realise our wishes. The project makes it possible to bring logistics operations in Estonia under one roof, develop a modern central kitchen and build a modern office that supports modern and innovative ways of working. All this creates prerequisites for the further development and growth of Rimi in Estonia and helps to serve the stores in the best way," said Vaido Padumäe, CEO of Rimi Estonia.

The builder of the building is INF Ehitus and the developer is AS Infortar. The development of the logistics center was started in 2021 by Lumi Capital, which signed a lease agreement with Rimi Eesti and prepared the project up to the construction stage, and continues today as a minority shareholder.

From 5 to 7 July 119 players from 11 countries participated in the Niitvälja Karikas by Infortar competition. In the men’s class Kevin Christopher Jegers (Niitvälja Golf) set a course record on the second day of the competition and started the final day in the first place, got a good result on the third day as well (67 strokes / -2) won first place and scored the Niitvälja Karikas competition record (the final result was 205 strokes / -11). However, Jegers teammate Mattias Varjun offered him a strong competition, played the best golf of his life in the last round – 10 birdies and a new Niitvälja Golf Park Course record of 64 strokes (-8). In the women’s class Hannah Õunap (Valgeranna Golf Club) started the final day as the leader, played 75 strokes (+3) on the third day and thus secured first place (final result 223 strokes / +7). Niitvälja Karikas by Infortar, the oldest golf tournament in the Baltic States with a prize fund of €10,500 is included in the R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking

Last year, AS Infortar grew into one of the largest companies in Estonia - the group's assets reached 1.1 billion, turnover 1.05 billion and profit to 96 million euros. In the next three years, Infortar plans to invest 250 million euros in the field of energy and real estate. Infortar operates in five countries, the company's main fields of activity are energy, shipping and real estate. A total of 104 companies belong to the Infortar group: 49 group companies, 5 affiliated companies and 50 affiliated companies' subsidiaries.

The Pärnu city government signed a design and construction contract for the construction of a new bridge in Pärnu worth 26.7 million euros with the engineering and construction companies INF Infra OÜ and AS EG Ehitus, which won the state tender.

"Today is definitely a historic moment. For decades, there has been talk of building a new bridge over the Pärnu River, and for the past five years we have been intensively working on finding solutions to several problems - the selection of the bridge's location, detailed planning, construction procurement, financing of the bridge," said Romek Kosenkranius, the Mayor of Pärnu.

"We understand the importance of the new bridge and will make the maximum contribution to the success of the project. Besides shipping and energy, Infortar has also become one of the largest real estate and mineral resources and the fastest growing engineering construction company, we have put together a very experienced team to build bridges and infrastructure objects," said Ain Hanschmidt, chairman of the board of Infortar.

"We use innovative solutions and technologies in the, which allow the people and the city of Pärnu to significantly save time and money, and ultimately get the bridge completed earlier and at a more affordable price. Innovative construction technology helps to reduce construction cost, completion time and environmental impact," said Robert Sinikas, board member of INF Infra OÜ.

INF Infra received maximum points for the Pärnu bridge tender: their offer was the cheapest and the construction time was the fastest. The price offered by INF Infra was 26,666,665 euros including VAT and the construction time is 22 months.

The new bridge in Pärnu will be the longest bridge in Estonia, with a span of 140 meters. It will also be the longest net arch bridge in the Baltics and Finland. The authors of the bridge are engineers Andreas Papp and Dmitri Gorbatjuk from Stricto Projekt OÜ.

Eesti Gaas has signed an agreement to acquire the Latvian gas distribution network owned by Gaso, a subsidiary of Latvijas Gaze, for 120 million euros. The completion of the transaction is subject to approval from the Latvian Competition Authority and permission from the Latvian government, as Gaso is considered a strategic asset.

“We see a future in gas and know how to do this business and grow it. We hope that we can share our experience as a gas network operator and that the change of ownership will help the company continue to grow and provide the best service to Latvian gas consumers,” said Ain Hanschmidt, Chairman of the Board of Eesti Gaas.

“With the support of Infortar, Eesti Gaas has developed from a local gas supplier to the largest privately owned energy company in the region, with about 70% of our sales volumes coming from foreign markets. The acquisition of the Latvian gas network is another important step in the expansion of Eesti Gaas as a Baltic Sea energy company. The Latvian gas network is almost four times larger than the one in Estonia, serving about 400,000 consumers. Like the rest of Europe, we see gas playing an important role as a transition fuel and a supporter of renewable energy. The prospect of gas use encourages us to invest in gas networks – we have signed the agreement and are waiting for the decision of the Latvian government,” added Hanschmidt.

Infortar, major owner of Eesti Gaas and Tallink, being Estonia's largest investment company with more than one billion euros in assets and operating in energy, shipping and real estate, aims to go public in the near future.

"Infortar has grown so big that the next logical step is to be listed and public. Expanding our investor base and joining the stock exchange gives us the opportunity to grow even faster internationally, to increase the value of our assets and to find additional financing opportunities," said Ain Hanschmidt, Chairman of the Management Board at Infortar. 

"Our investment portfolio is diverse and cross-border, the lion's share of the group's income comes from foreign markets. The energy, shipping and real estate companies in which Infortar participates have proven themselves in crises and have great growth potential - we plan to continue investing in energy and real estate projects, while Tallink has its own decision-making processes and an investment plan independent of us," Hanschmidt said.

"The goal of going public has been set, the advisers have been chosen and the initial preparations have been made, but the more precise time frame depends on what is happening around us - no one can see behind the curvature of the earth after all. We are investors ourselves and we want to offer other investors a unique value share, meaning dividend security, real success and assets, not only in the future but also today," Hanschmidt said.  

On February 10, the winners of the contests 25 Most Beautiful Estonian Books and 5 Most Beautiful Estonian Children's Books and recipients of special prizes were announced in the Estonian Writers' House. Printing house Printon received a total of 10 awards, among them 1 special award and 2 awards in the category of children's books! Two juries were formed to select the most beautiful books. 135 books participated in the competition of the 25 most beautiful Estonian books, and there were 43 works in the category of the most beautiful Estonian children's books. A total of 178 works from 85 publishing houses were evaluated.

Eesti Gaas has made agreements with LNG terminals to bring a total of ten LNG cargos by the fall of this year – three deliveries to the port of Klaipeda in Lithuania in the winter and seven to the port of Inkoo in Finland in the spring and summer.

“Our gas now comes from the west and by tankers, cooperation with both large LNG terminals in the Finnish-Baltic region and the gas storage in Latvia gives us stability. Our ten LNG cargos will bring security of supply to customers and, hopefully, together with the gas also comes price stability,” said Margus Kaasik, CEO of Eesti Gaas.

“In the big picture, natural gas is making a comeback. The use of natural gas is increasing again since the security of supply in Europe is good and the price is in a downward trend. Gas price has returned to pre-war price levels, and gas is once again cheaper than, for example, light heating oil or propane. Several customers on our different markets, who used alternative fuels in the meantime, are already returning to natural gas today,” Kaasik said.

Last year, Eesti Gaas procured five shiploads of LNG for its customers through the port of Klaipeda. The LNG tanker Aristidis I from the United States arrived at the Lithuanian Klaipeda terminal in May, Diamond Gas Crystal from the United States and Arctic Princess from Norway in June, Isabella from the United States in October, and Arctic Aurora from Norway in November.

In January, Equinor’s LNG tanker Isabella delivered this year’s first cargo from the United States to the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda. In March, Eesti Gaas will bring two more cargos to Klaipeda and in the spring and summer seven more to Inkoo.

The investment company Infortar expanded its real estate portfolio by purchasing the next loft-office type commercial building located in the Tähesaju Business Campus in Lasnamäe. "For Infortar, real estate is as important as investments in the field of maritime transportation and energy. Today, the real estate market is changing and offers opportunities, we look at it with an open mind and a persistent will, the goal is to further increase the size of our real estate portfolio in the near future," commented Ain Hanschmidt, chairman of the board of Infortar. The building completed in September at Tähesaju Street 9 in Lasnamäe combines retail, service, office and warehouse spaces. Koffisemu, Mereneid Trading, Skyadvert Network and other companies operate in the commercial building.