In April, the Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications, the heads of the power companies of the Baltic States and Finland, the ambassadors of the countries involved in the project and the representatives of constructor ABB formally laid the cornerstone for the Estlink submarine cable converter station. The event marked the launch of construction work on the mainland Estonian portion of the Estlink cable project.

The Estlink cable will be connected to the Estonian electrical system at the Harku high-voltage substation. The land cable to be used in the Estlink project has now reached Estonia in its entirety, and preparations for installing the cable are under way. Construction of the converter substation and installation of the cable also has begun on the other side of the Gulf of Finland at Espoo Substation. Simultaneously, preparations for the final part of the submarine cable and the necessary equipment are in progress at ABB's plants. The next major project stages awaited are the arrival of the converter substation transformer to Estonia and the commencement of submarine cable at the end of the summer. The Estlink cable project is scheduled for final completion by the end of 2006.

Estlink is designed to supply the Nordic electricity market with electricity generated in the Baltics. An estimated 2 TWh of electricity will be transported annually via the cable. The project will improve security of the electricity supply in the Baltic States and reduce dependence of the Baltic power systems on Russia. Estlink allows for electricity transit and provides an alternative electricity purchase channel to cover potential deficits in generating capacity.

The stakeholders in the Estlink project are, from the Baltic States, Eesti Energia, Latvenergo and Lietuvos Energija; and, from Finland, Pohjolan Voima and Helsingin Energia.