On February 18, the Cabinet of Ministers (MK) approved the amendments developed by the Ministry of Transport (SM) to MK regulations No. 190 of April 11, 2023, regarding the reallocation of €114.6 million from the Recovery Fund (AF) to complete construction work of the southern part of Riga Central Station (RCS).
The amendments are necessary to finalize the construction of the southern part of RCS using AF funding, put it into operation, and start using the station for 1520 mm passenger trains as soon as possible. The amendments were developed in accordance with the decision of the MK meeting on December 10, 2024, regarding the first phase of the Rail Baltica project in Latvia, as well as the subsequent MK decision on December 18, 2024, which supported the submission of AF plan amendments to the European Commission (EC). Additionally, the amendments take into account the initial opinion of JASPERS experts, representing the partnership between the European Commission and the European Investment Bank, on the proportionality of costs for RCS section 2B and their alignment with similar projects in comparable countries.
Financing of €114.6 million has been found, redirecting €74.4 million originally planned for the emission-free rail infrastructure development project and €40.23 million from the metrobus project.
The amendments require the national promoter of the Rail Baltica project, Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas Ltd (EDzL), to start immediately the implementation of the investment project for the southern part of the Central Station to avoid the risk of not completing the project by August 31, 2026.
At the same time, the amendment foresees a pre-financing of €13.3 million to EDzL, which is needed for preliminary works and for ordering materials with long delivery times, such as the roofing.
The financing is intended to complete the station part (Phase 2B), which is a prerequisite for the completion of the railway infrastructure works in the station area (Phase 2C2), which is fully financed by the Connecting Europe Facility for Infrastructure (CEF9).
