Someone must be held accountable for the unfinished bridge supports in the Daugava as part of the 'Rail Baltica' railway project, Prime Minister Evika Silina ('New Unity') stated to reporters on Wednesday, LETA reports.
"I don’t know why someone was so proactive and decided that these piles needed to be installed somewhere first," said Silina, adding that this is usually how construction happens.
According to the Prime Minister, she instructed the Minister of Transport to calculate the cost of the necessary conservation of the support, but such a calculation has not yet been made.
"Nevertheless, an investigation is being conducted into the 'Rail Baltica' project, as I completely agree that the responsibility for how this project was managed should not fall on just one person," emphasized Silina.
According to her, the project is managed by both the implementing company 'Eiropas dzelzceļa līnijas' in Latvia and 'RB Rail', as well as the Ministry of Transport, which has long been responsible for this project.
"There were many managers and leaders in this project who received competitive, good salaries. I think they should also be able to explain why such decisions were made, which resulted in us now having these piles," stated the Prime Minister.
It was previously reported that the chairman of the board of 'Eiropas dzelzceļa līnijas', Maris Dzelme, stated this month in the TV24 program 'Uz līnijas' that the support of the 'Rail Baltica' bridge driven into the Daugava will be conserved this year, and its 'deconservation' will likely only occur after 2030.
It was also reported that according to information from 'RB Rail', the costs for the first phase of the 'Rail Baltica' project in the Baltic countries could reach 14.3 billion euros, of which 5.5 billion euros are in Latvia, but there is a potential reduction in costs by up to 500 million euros through the optimization of technical solutions, as well as other savings.
The total costs of the project, according to the cost-benefit analysis, in the Baltics could reach 23.8 billion euros. In a previous analysis in 2017, it was estimated that the entire project would cost 5.8 billion euros.
The 'Rail Baltica' project involves the construction of a European standard railway line from Tallinn to the border of Lithuania and Poland, in order to further connect the Baltic countries with other states in Europe. A new railway line of European gauge (1435 mm) is planned to be built in the Baltic countries, with a length of 870 kilometers and a maximum train speed of 240 kilometers per hour.
Leave a comment