KESK-EESTI - Economy
Reserves and extraction of mineral resources plays an important role in Kesk-Eesti. The building materials and food industries are the leaders in Lääne-Viru county, with chemicals, metal processing and light industry (clothing) being important as well. The main manufacturing sectors in Rapla county are timber and furniture production, glass production, paper and packing industry, textile and chemicals.
GDP per capita of the region was about 26% of the EU-15 average in 2001.
The share of services is below the national average, and what little there is comprises mainly retail trade and services, as well as public services orientated towards the local market. Wood-processing and other small-scale industries are also present. In the course of economic reforms numerous small metal shops and construction enterprises were formed on the basis of former collective farms but they have had a negligible impact on the economic structure. The region´s most important industries are Estonia´s biggest saw mill in Järva county, the cement factory in Lääne-Viru county and its only glassworks in Rapla county. Although some tourist enterprises have been formed, Kesk-Eesti has not been considered as attractive as the other regions of Estonia and tourism is not well established here.
The counties of Lääne-Viru and Rapla have been attractive for foreign capital investments. Nearly all of the biggest enterprises in Lääne-Viru have foreign investors. The high amount of foreign investments (Dutch, Swedish and US capital) in Rapla county is mainly due to its favourable location - closeness to the capital, as well as the success in transforming Soviet industries into new companies.
Owing to its location in Estonia, several main roads and main railway lines pass through Kesk-Eesti.
The road linking Estonia's two largest cities - Tallinn and Tartu - passes through the county of Järva. The Via Baltica international road is running through the western part of Kesk-Eesti (through Märjamaa). Another important road leads from Tallinn to Rapla and on to Türi and Viljandi. In the north, the region is crossed by one of Estonia's most important transit corridors - the Tallinn - Narva - St. Petersburg road and railway. At the large railway junction in Tapa, the railway running from Tallinn branches in the direction of Tartu - Valga - Riga. The Tallinn - Viljandi railway crosses the western part of the region, branching at Lelle station towards Pärnu. Road and rail traffic is not locally generated but is transit traffic.
Kesk-Eesti has a seaport in Kunda. The port handles mainly building materials and logs, to a lesser degree, timber and wooden products. The region lacks an airport.
At the end of 2002, the total road length in Kesk-Eesti was 11 566 km, of which, 27% were national roads. The proportion of hard surfaced roads was 23%.
At the end of 2002, there were 54 859 thousand vehicles in Kesk-Eesti, 81% of them private. This number of vehicles represents 11% of the national figure. The number of private passenger cars in the region, 44 240, and the total number of vehicles are the second lowest figures after Kirde-Eesti. Nevertheless, the number of vehicles per 100 population, 38, and that of private passenger cars, 31, correspond to the respective Estonian averages (36 and 30).
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