The Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV) signed a contract with Harmet OÜ to build an apartment building for internally displaced people (IDPs) in the small town of Brusyliv in the Zhytomyr Region.
To find a construction partner, ESTDEV organised a public procurement, which outlined conditions for the modular building’s production, transportation and installation. Harmet, Estonia’s largest modular building manufacturer, won the 1.99-million-euro construction contract and must complete the construction work within 250 calendar days. The apartment building should be ready in the spring of 2026.
“Harmet is pleased to contribute to the new Estonia-Ukraine cooperation project to support the reconstruction of Ukraine. Estonian wooden houses are highly valued, especially in Scandinavia. Through this project, we have the opportunity to introduce our modular apartment buildings in Ukraine as well. We take seriously the responsibility entrusted to us and will do our best to ensure the success of the project” commented Alo Tamm, Harmet’s executive director.
The apartment building and its accompanying bomb shelter will be built in the Zhytomyr Region, in the small town of Brusyliv, as part of local efforts to alleviate the housing crisis for IDPs in Ukraine.
According to ESTDEV’s executive director, Klen Jäärats, the apartment building draws on Estonia’s strengths and innovation in prefab wooden building production and offers Estonian companies an opportunity to contribute to Ukraine’s recovery.
“Estonia is Europe’s largest exporter of modular wooden buildings. We have a strong construction sector and valuable first-hand experience participating in Ukraine’s reconstruction. Zhytomyr is a very forested region and has the potential to develop a strong wooden housing sector,” said Jäärats, adding that the new economic opportunities and job creation offered by these types of construction projects significantly contribute to the integration into society of both IDPs and men returning from the front.
In the early months of the war, the Zhytomyr Region received approximately 126,000 IDPs who fled from regions near the front line. Approximately 56,000 of them have remained in Zhytomyr, and about 1,200 of them reside in Brusyliv.
In addition to the apartment building in Brusyliv, Estonia is also renovating the former barracks in Ovruch and turning it into an apartment building for IDPs.
ESTDEV and Harmet previously collaborated on Estonia’s first reconstruction project in Ukraine, a modular wooden kindergarten in the city of Ovruch, which has provided 160 Ukrainian children with the opportunity to begin their education in a safe and engaging environment.