The sharp rise in prices is forcing politicians, authorities, and companies to look for solutions to alleviate the coming crisis with the help of Estonian raw materials.

The feeling that has come over entrepreneurs is similar to the times of the first wave of COVID when everyone turned pale in the face. Local production and the use of local raw materials must be secured by all possible means to prevent a decline.

In the current situation and in the foreseeable future, we can only keep the construction industry running with local raw materials. The idea that granite gravel from the Nordic countries should be preferred in construction sounded unfounded already in the past. Granite crushed stone plays an excellent role in the top layer of asphalt pavement and in some concrete components that require special durability. Limestone crushed stone is excellent as the aggregate material in the majority of construction units in terms of both quality and price. All lower layers can and should be made of local material.

The well-being of Estonians cannot be guaranteed without opening new quarries because construction minerals must be mined as close as possible to the place of consumption in order to reduce the CO2 footprint and transport costs.

A significant shift must be achieved in the behavior of the Estonian Transport Administration. When the Limestone factories of Estonia OÜ was the first to switch to waste-free processing of limestone, we started to produce a large amount of limestone sand, which by its quality is suitable to replace the usual quartz sand in road construction. The Transport Administration ignored the environmental benefits of limestone sand and excluded it from procurement. The reason given was the absurd claim that the Limestone factories of Estonia OÜ maintains a monopoly position. Other companies currently produce limestone sand, which private customers like to use.

Therefore, some recipes prescribed by the state need to be redesigned in road construction so that limestone sand can be used instead of quartz sand. In the current precarious economic situation, the construction of roads must not be based on the discretion of an authorities.

Fortunately, Estonia has enough local raw materials for many industries. We must use our wealth wisely to survive in difficult times.

Full version of the article: https://arileht.delfi.ee/artikkel/120002380/ettevotja-krahh-piilub-ukse-vahelt-aga-koik-pole-veel-kadunud