The total cost of the Rail Baltica project in the Baltic States, according to the cost-benefit analysis, could amount to 23.8 billion euros. In the previous cost-benefit analysis in 2017, it was assumed that the total cost of the project would be 5.8 billion euros. What do you think of the difference?
The new government must make a decision on the completion of the Rail Baltica railway project no later than 2035, said Matiss Paegle, chairman of the board of the Baltic States joint venture RB Rail.
He notes that the most important decision that needs to be made now concerns the financing and implementation of the project within a reasonable timeframe. "Yes, this is a difficult decision because it requires acknowledging the mistakes made. But there is no other way but to clearly state - we will complete Rail Baltica no later than 2035, committing to do everything to make it happen sooner. This would allow Latvia's co-financing to be spread over eight years instead of concentrating it in four years, which the budget cannot afford," said Paegle.
The chairman of the RB Rail board also believes that to implement the project, it is necessary to use the European Union (EU) financial instrument "Safe." "Latvia has already left a loan of 2.2 billion euros on the table for 45 years with a 10-year repayment deferral - starting from 2036. Practically, we are the first EU state to refuse such conditions. This funding could complete half of the main route," he emphasized.
According to Paegle, if Latvia misses this instrument, it will later have to borrow this money anyway, but under significantly worse conditions and in much larger volumes, as delays will lead to an increase in project costs by about 200 million euros per year.
He also believes that the management of a project of this scale should be directly subordinate to the Prime Minister, who should simultaneously take responsibility for financing. Currently, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Finance, responsible for the project, are not allocating funds for it, and the Prime Minister does not want to know about it.
He noted that the previous government, instead of acting decisively, preferred to mislead both the Latvian public and neighboring countries - Lithuania and Estonia, as well as the European Commission regarding the actual progress of the project and the possible deadlines for completion at this time.
In the opinion of the bb.lv editorial team, it is time for high officials to be held accountable for the deception and lost billions. Or is this unrealistic in Latvia?
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