First travellers have walked through the renovated parts of the ferry terminal, which will have been completed in full by the summer of 2020.

"On the first floor of the building, the passengers arrive in a spacious atrium, and this is also where the store is located; from there, ramps bring them to the second floor with ticket desks and the check-in area. The third floor of the terminal is where only ticketholders are allowed. The windows provide beautiful views over the Old Town and the territory of the port, and the passengers now have significantly larger waiting and lounge areas at their disposal alongside a café and a store. Arriving passengers will from now on be able to reach the first floor directly from the third floor along a ramp," a press release from the Port of Tallinn read.

The terminal building also received a new glass façade, with background lighting and covered with large wall panels and decorative mesh.

"[...] visitors of the Port of Tallinn will be able to enjoy modern and well-lit room appropriate for Estonia's largest sea and tourist gate. The interior design of the terminal features advanced materials, natural wood and a light colour scheme," Peeter Nõgu, Head of Infrastructure Development, the Port of Tallinn, commented.

Marek Sööt, Project Manager, Nordecon AS (the company in charge of carrying out the renovation), added, "The process of building the new part of Terminal D was rather challenging, mainly because the terminal remained operational and kept providing daily services to passengers at the same time."

He furthered, "Still, any contractor would consider a project of such weight and importance, which sees millions of visitors pass through every year, to be a fascinating opportunity. The first stage has been completed, and approximately a half of the old building has been renovated with further construction works to follow."

As works are still in progress, Nõgu explained, "We cannot say that absolutely everything has been finished in the new terminal and part of the old terminal. A temporary solution for passengers' movement to and from the ship will have to be used in the area completed by now. Old furniture will also remain in the renovated part for a couple of months, and the fact that the old part of the terminal operational so far will be separated from the new one with temporary partitions will have to be taken into account. A third of the terminal is still in need of reconstruction, so there will be some noise inside while people will still see construction materials and structures to be taken down around the terminal."

Konsult, led by Irina Raud, has authored the architectural solution and interior design of the building. The structure and special parts of the building were designed by SWECO Projekt AS, while the electricity, low current, and automation systems by Rausi OÜ.

The reconstruction of the Terminal D has been co-financed by the European Union under the Connecting Europe Facility project TWIN-PORT 2.

Please click the following link+ to access a gallery with photos of the renovated part

Photo: Port of Tallinn