LITHUANIAN SECTOR OF TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS 2020 SECOND QUARTER
The Nordic Investment Bank to fund the expansion of Klaipėda Seaport The Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) and Klaipėda State Seaport Authority signed a 19-year credit agreement on the upgrade of Klaipėda Seaport’s infrastructure.
The agreed funding will cover up to 68 million euros of investments in the reconstruction of the port’s quays. The aim of the project is to expand the quays and deepen the shipping channel to enable the port to accept larger ships. The ability to accept larger ships will improve the port’s and its operators’ productivity. Successful implementation of the project is expected to increase the port’s annual loading capacity by 19.1 million tonnes, or 29% of the current capacity.
The total value of the project is 136 million euros. The project is to be completed by the end of 2023.
Lithuania approved the Guidelines for the Lithuania will seek to have a virtual airline Development of 5G for 2020–2025 In order to improve Lithuania’s accessibility by air, the Ministry of Transport and Communications made The Government approved the Guidelines for the development of fifth generation a proposal to the Government to establish a national mobile communications (5G) of the Republic of Lithuania for 2020–2025. The air carrier that would be a virtual airline. This would aim of these guidelines is to ensure a gradual and controlled development of provide more flexibility in responding to Lithuania’s 5G communications, creating an effective legal and investment environment in air transportation needs independently from the Lithuania. constantly changing strategies of foreign airlines. The national air carrier – the virtual airline – is expected The 5G development in Lithuania is to be carried out in stages: to be established until the end of this year or the 2021: The start of 5G installation and development within the country’s beginning of next year. Its establishment would be territory; funded from the national budget. Until 2022: 5G is available in at least one of the largest cities in Lithuania; Such an airline model was proposed taking into Until 2023: Continuous 5G operation in Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai account its advantages: significantly lower costs for the company’s establishment (in essence, the and Panevėžys; company would purchase a comprehensive aircraft, Until 2025: 5G is available in cities and towns, international transport crew, maintenance and insurance service), much corridors (Via Baltica, Rail Baltica), roads of national importance, railways more flexibility in changing the scale of business and and airports. aircraft, as well as a quicker start of operations.
150 million euros for Lithuanian roads from the economic stimulus package
In implementing its plan for the economic stimulus and reduction of the consequences of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Government allocated additional 150 million euros to improve the Lithuanian road infrastructure. Priority was given to the asphalting of the gravel roads that are within settlements and that connect them as well as to the repair of the roads that lead to resorts, places of interest and areas where jobs are being created. Border areas were also taken into account. Significant funds have been allocated for the construction or reconstruction of pedestrian and bicycle paths. According to the plan, funds for road repairs and for gravel road asphalting were allocated to 60 municipalities of the country. Until 30 November of this year, 484 roads of local significance are to be repaired; therefore, people throughout Lithuania will feel positive changes in this year already.
Klaipėda Seaport has a new chief executive A breakthrough in the cargo Klaipėda Seaport has a new chief executive – on 15 June, Algis Latakas assumed the position of Director General of transportation market: truck semi- Klaipėda State Seaport Authority after winning the selection procedure. trailers can now be transported by rail The new chief executive will have to fulfil ambitious goals, the most important of which is to ensure sustainable growth of the port by more proactively responding to pollution issues and more closely aligning the interests of the port and the The cargo transportation company LG Cargo, owned by Lithuanian Railways city of Klaipėda. The chief executive will also have to improve the port’s long term competitiveness by ensuring smooth which is the largest railway company group in the Baltic states, together with implementation of the projects included in the general plan of the port of Klaipėda as well as effective use of the investment its partners transported truck semi-trailers by rail for the very first time. On in infrastructure. 14 May, a train with 22 semi-trailers arrived at the Šeštokai railway station in the Lazdijai district – the trip started in Central Europe and took two days. This The new Director General of Klaipėda State Seaport Authority said he will seek to ensure such parameters of the port, that would meet the needs of local and transit cargo transportation. He highlighted the importance of environmental protection is the first time semi-trailers are transported by rail in the Baltic states. as one of his key priorities. Such combination of transport is estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by Klaipėda State Seaport Authority is one of the largest state-owned enterprise in the transportation sector. Klaipėda Seaport 100 tonnes compared to transporting the goods by individual trucks. For has been the leading port in the Baltic states in terms of cargo quantities which have been higher than in the Latvian and comparison, 100 tonnes would be the total weight of 16 elephants or, if Estonian ports for the past several years. measured in cubic metres, this would amount to 25 hot-air balloons.
Ministry of Transport and Communications proposes to reconstruct the railway line to Hrodna The Ministry of Transport and Communications proposed to reconstruct the railway line to Hrodna by building a new connection with Druskininkai. The recreation of the section Marcinkonys–Druskininkai–state border with Belarus is expected to increase the number of Lithuanian and foreign tourists travelling on the new rail routes Vilnius–Druskininkai, Vilnius–Hrodna, Druskininkai–Hrodna, Varėna–Druskininkai. This would reduce the number of vehicles on the roads, which would have a positive effect on reducing pollution and traffic accidents. This railway line would transport 180,000 passengers and 1.5 million tonnes of cargo annually. The railway line reconstruction project could be implemented in 4 years.
A section of the “Via Baltica” highway in the Kaunas district will be improved according to the highest standards
The section of the “Via Baltica” highway between Garliava and the Kaunas district boundary is to be improved in order to ensure the highway’s compliance with the highest requirements of infrastructure quality and traffic safety. A trilateral agreement on preparatory work was signed between the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Lithuanian Road Administration, and Kelprojektas UAB. The signed agreement includes preparatory work in the section of route A5 Kaunas–Marijampolė–Suvalkai that is part of “Via Baltica”: from the crossroad with regional road No. 130 Kaunas–Prienai–Alytus to the boundary of the Kaunas district. Currently, preparations for further upgrade of “Via Baltica” between Marijampolė and the border of Lithuania and Poland are also taking place.
“Rail Baltica” is Lithuania’s commitment not only to itself but also to the entire Europe
Lithuania has already installed and operates the section of the European-standard railway gauge from the Poland-Lithuania border to the Kaunas railway transport node. The territory-planning procedures for this section’s modernisation (for the line’s compliance with the commonly agreed parameters) are well underway and the “Rail Baltica” line will be extended, connected to the Kaunas intermodal terminal and started to be used for cargo transportation already in this year. This will open up collaboration opportunities not only in infrastructure development but also in business development. Lithuania’s main goal is to fully complete and begin full operation of the “Rail Baltica” railway by 2026. “Rail Baltica” is important not only for the Baltic region but also for entire Europe as an integral part of the Trans-European railway network, that will add the missing links in the current map of passenger and cargo transportation along the North Sea–Baltic Sea and Scandinavia–Adriatic Sea corridors. Lithuania is ready to complete this railway line of European importance on time. The public procurement of the 475-million- euro-worth subcontracting work for the construction of the rail line from Kaunas to Latvia has already begun. The companies are welcome to actively participate in the announced public tenders. The construction work is to begin in Q1 2021.
Additional EU funding for the “Rail Baltica” project
The European Commission allocated additional funding for the Baltic states and Poland, amounting to over 606 million euros, for the implementation of the “Rail Baltica” project. In this year’s spring, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the project coordinator “RB Rail” applied to the European Commission for additional funding of the project, requesting in total 664.1 Reconstruction of “Rail Baltica” section million euros, 278.9 million euros of which would be Lithuania’s share. For now, only a portion of the total amount has been approved: 183.8 million euros for all applicants, 30.4 million euros of which were allocated to Lithuania. The indicated needs Kaunas–Palemonas is 70% completed show Lithuania’s high readiness to complete the railway line, but the funding delays limit the opportunities to complete This year, the Kaunas intermodal terminal will be connected to the European work under planned schedule and in planned scale. railway network. Kaunas will become the main hub for cargo reloading, Based on the results of the negotiation on the allocation of the EU budget of multiannual financial perspective, which are serving both the broad-gauge and the European-gauge trains. favourable to “Rail Baltica”, the remaining funds are expected to be received on time to continue the work and successfully complete the “Rail Baltica” project by 2026. “LTG Infra” announced tender Land acquisition for “Rail Baltica” related roads is nearing procedures worth 475 million euros for completion the construction of the “Rail Baltica” The “Rail Baltica” construction work has not stopped during the quarantine – the procedures of land acquisition for the railway roads that are related to this project are nearing completion. Taking into account the amount of EU funding allocated to the “Rail Baltica” The public could already see the evidence that “Rail Baltica” is a strategically significant object, serving even in critical line Kaunas–Lithuania-Latvia border, the limits of technical projects under situations: when many states announced quarantine, Lithuanian citizens who could not go back to Lithuania were returned preparation, and technological differences in the execution of works, and taking home using this railway. into account the experience of similar projects, in this stage the construction of The acquired land is needed for local roads related to the section of “Rail Baltica” between Kaunas and the Poland-Lithuania the rail line is divided into four main groups of procurement objects, for which border. The first stage of the acquisition of land for the construction of the railway line began in the second half of 2018 and separate purchase agreements would be concluded: for the construction of was completed in spring 2019, and the second stage began in autumn 2019 in order to ensure road access to the land plots railway roadbeds and engineering structures; for the construction of connecting that are near the railway line. The land that is currently being acquired is necessary for roads related to the section of the roads; for the construction of a bridge over the Neris river at the town of Jonava; European railway line “Rail Baltica” between Kaunas and the Poland-Lithuania border. and for the installation of the upper structure of the railway.