On Tuesday, October 10th, the Ministry of Transport briefed the Cabinet of Ministers Government of the State of Latvia on the informational report regarding the necessary financing amendments for the Rail Baltica project. The goal is to find a solution for completing the ongoing design work in four design sections in Latvia.
The scope of the design work has increased due to several factors. Additional costs for design work have arisen from deviations from the initially planned railway line, an increase in train speed in accordance with EU standards, determining the locations of regional train stops, and additional safety measures.
“The European Commission conceptually supports the increase in the design scope and the justification of associated costs, but it does not allocate funds for repeated design activities. The completion of the design phase is a critical precondition for commencing large-scale mainline construction work, so we must find a solution together,” emphasized Minister of Transport Kaspars Briškens.
To fully utilize the allocated EU funding, the ongoing design work must be completed by December 31, 2024. Likewise, the completion of the design work is a crucial precondition for attracting further funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for the Rail Baltica project and continuing construction activities on the mainline.
The Minister of Cabited supported the allocation of funding for increasing the design work scope in the four Latvian sections from the budget program “Undivided financing for the implementation of EU policy instruments and other foreign financial assistance co-financed projects and measures.” According to the authorization issued by the Ministry of Transport, the allocated funding will enable the Rail Baltica joint venture RB Rail AS to sign amendments to the design agreement with international partners.
Additional information:
The main source of funding for the Rail Baltica project is the CEF funding, which Latvia receives by applying in EU project callouts. Funding with a support intensity of up to 85% is allocated directly to eligible expenses.
According to the latest available data from the CEF project callout, Latvia has provisionally been allocated €298 million or 32% of the total €928 million allocated to the Baltic states for the implementation of the project.