Last week, the Liepna People's House hosted an opening meeting on the project of the establishment of the temporary accommodation centre for asylum seekers in Liepna, during which participants presented their work to date, as well as discussing future challenges for the successful implementation of the project.
Mr. Dimitrijs Trofimovs, State Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, said: "The global geopolitical challenges pose significant risks in relation to the increase in the number of asylum seekers in the territory of the European Union, including Latvia. However, in view of the challenges we all have managed to overcome together, we are prepared for different scenarios in the future. The project will be essential for society, as the infrastructure in Liepna parish will be arranged, the former building of the Main School of Liepna, as well as the creation of jobs for local residents."
A temporary accommodation centre for asylum seekers with an accommodation capacity of up to 250 persons will be established in the internal building of the county of Liepna, the operation of which will be ensured by the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs.
The building in the parish of Liepna, which has previously served as the building of the Internal School of Liepna, has been uninhabited for five years. Adaptation work must be carried out to allow it to be used for the accommodation of asylum seekers. The planned works include replacing the roof cover, restoring the heating system, overhauling the wiring, installing a fire safety and identification system, restoring sanitary spaces (kitchen, showers and toilets). Under the conditions of the project, no cosmetic repairs will be carried out in the building, only minor improvements have been made to the accommodation, repairing what has been damaged or technically deteriorated.
The planned cost of works is EUR 848 884,48 (without value added tax), including supervision service. The works are scheduled to be carried out by 31 January 2023.
The establishment of a temporary accommodation centre for asylum seekers will be implemented with the assistance of the European Union Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund emergency financial instrument project “Tackling urgent accommodation and humanitarian aid needs arising from an increased number of asylum seekers in Latvia”.
This European Union project is being implemented by the Ministry of Interior, in cooperation with the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs and the Provision State Agency, while the performance of the works - the adaptation of the building to the establishment of a temporary asylum accommodation centre - will be implemented by the builder RCI Gulbene, selected in the framework of the project.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the municipality of Aluksne, representatives of the municipality of Liepna, representatives of the Provision State Agency, the Ministry of Interior and the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs, as well as representatives of the builders.
