📋 Tender Overview
Today, August 18, the Cabinet of Ministers (MK) supported the proposals developed by the Ministry of Transport for amendments to the financing agreement of the eighth call of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEIF). Earlier, the MK supported the amendments to the financing agreements of the ninth and tenth calls of the CEF. Thus, the implementation of the first round of activities of the Rail Baltica project in Latvia and the effective use of EU funding are promoted. The proposals provide for extending the deadline for the implementation of the activities of the CEF8 agreement until December 31, 2028, thus reducing the risks associated with possible delays in the implementation of the project and ensuring compliance with the cost eligibility period. Also, the proposals developed in cooperation with SIA Eiropas dzezles lijnas (EDzL) envisage expanding the scope of land expropriation works, as well as strengthening the role of EDzL in the implementation of the Rail Baltica project in Latvia. It is planned to take over from RB Rail AS the preparatory work for the construction of a separate cross-border section at the Latvian-Lithuanian border, as well as the author supervision function on the southern section of the main line, thus increasing the funding available for Latvian activities and promoting more efficient project implementation. At the same time, the proposals envisage redistributing the financial savings identified by the joint venture RB Rail AS, which can be directed to the implementation of Rail Baltica project activities in the Baltic States. It is planned to allocate 702.1 thousand euros for the construction of the southern section of the main line to Latvian activities, including using both savings from the Latvian part of RB Rail AS and part of the financing available from Lithuanian activities. Overall, the planned amendments to the CEF8 financing agreement have a positive effect on the attraction of funding for the Rail Baltica project in Latvia, providing the opportunity to attract additional EISI financing in the amount of 1.02 million euros for the implementation of Latvian activities. At the same time, the amendments envisage the need to increase the co-financing of the state budget for Latvian activities, which after the reduction of the co-financing part of RB Rail AS, will amount to 37 thousand euros. Currently, RB Rail AS, as the project coordinator, coordinates the preparation and submission of contract amendments to CINEA. After receiving CINEAs acceptance, the MoU will submit an informative report to the MoC on the specified amounts of the Agreement.
