TALLINN. Jan 13 (Interfax) - The Defense Investment Center opened amid ceremony in Estonia on Friday, with the role of supervising supplies for the country's Defense Forces and infrastructure projects.
"The Center's activity aims to make the supply process more professional and transparent, to facilitate higher defensive capabilities," Defense Minister Margus Tsahkna said in a speech.
The Estonian government, which came to power in late 2016, allocated defense spending for 2017 at 2.2% of gross domestic product, which is in line with NATO standards, the minister said.
Over the past five years the volume of defense purchases has doubled and now accounts for about half of funding allocated for defense purposes, he said.
"Whereas in 2010 investment in special defense systems stood at 57.3 million euro, by 2020 we are forecasting around 200 million euro," Rauno Sirk, the head of the Center, said.
Whereas the real estate of the Defense Forces in 2010 cost 9.6 million euro in investment, the figure in 2016 was already 16 million euro, he said.
This year, the Center is planning to make 430 purchases to the tune of 159 million euro, Sirk said. The most important of them will be a delivery to Estonia and re-equipping of CV9035 infantry fighting vehicles, a purchase of self-propelled artillery mounts and a replacement of small arms.
The Center was created by the defense minister's decree in late 2015 and began operating on January 1 of this year.