Estonia will begin large-scale construction of a new military base in the border city of Narva at the end of 2026, with around 200 Estonian Defence Forces personnel to be permanently stationed there once the facility is completed, according to Ando Voogma, project portfolio head at the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments, as reported by ERR News.
A temporary container-based camp is expected to become operational in early 2027, allowing an initial deployment of about 150 troops before the permanent base is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2028. Designed to accommodate up to 1,000 personnel, the installation will host a unit of the Defence Forces’ 1st Infantry Brigade just across the Narva River from Russia’s border city of Ivangorod.
Construction will proceed after Narva’s City Assembly approves a land exchange with the state. In return, the municipality will receive approximately €400,000 in compensation and a replacement plot in the city’s Old Town.
Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur described the project as “a strategic decision in the field of national security,” adding that it would also strengthen the state’s civilian and institutional presence in the predominantly Russian-speaking border city.
The Narva base forms part of Estonia’s broader Baltic Defence Line programme. The country has already installed 28 bunkers, excavated more than 10 kilometres of anti-tank ditches and emplaced 20,000 “dragon’s teeth” anti-vehicle obstacles. Estonia plans to construct 600 bunkers by the end of 2027 as part of a fortification programme valued at approximately €60 million, reflecting NATO’s wider shift toward a stronger forward defence posture along its eastern flank.
