February 2020

www.klauberg.legal

The Klauberg BALTICS Baltic Business Opportunity Survey is published for general information purposes only and does not constitute advice of any kind. The publisher is not liable for any errors or misrepresentations.

1 Dear Reader,

The Klauberg BALTICS Baltic Business Opportunity Survey provides information about upcoming and ongoing investment projects in the Baltic States. With offices in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Klauberg BALTICS covers this region in all relevant areas of business law, including corporate/M&A, commercial and contract law, litigation and arbitration, tax and administrative/procurement. For further information on the projects presented, please contact our local offices. This publication is for information only; Klauberg BALTICS does not represent the project initiators.

General contact:

Estonia: Theis Klauberg LL.M. [email protected] Latvia: Theis Klauberg LL.M. [email protected] Lithuania: Sigita Sriubaite -Stepuriene [email protected]

Contents: News on Rail Baltica ...... 4 Estonia ...... 5 Artificial Intelligence becomes a ground for cooperation between Estonia and Germany ...... 6 Estonian spin-offs are about to make a splash in 2020 ...... 7 Estonia invests in startups to find a new success story ...... 8 Ülemiste City – the first smart city in Baltics ...... 9 Driverless buses in Tallinn – the technological revolution has happened ...... 10 Talinn Aiport`s operator plans a terminal expansion by 2035 ...... 11 New large scale project at Muuga Harbour ...... 12 Development of Kopli Liinid in Tallinn ...... 13 Bridge to Saaremaa: Financing to come from private investors ...... 14 Tunnel from Tallinn to Helsinki ...... 15 Latvia ...... 16 The New Riga Theater is going to be reconstructed ...... 17 Dokobit comes in Latvia ...... 18 New multimodal business district in the heart of Riga ...... 19 First solar power plant in Baltics was opened in Salaspils ...... 20 Major changes to one of Riga’s most famous sights: TV tower ...... 21

2 15 Business Incubators have been established ...... 22 Planning of bypass road for A7 highway ...... 23 Planning and development of multimodal transport hub ...... 24 Lithuania ...... 25 The Rail Baltica tender for Rokai-Palemonas will be re-launched ...... 26 Lithuania lays foundation for wind power plants in the Baltic Sea ...... 27 Lithuania attracts businesses from Germany ...... 28 Cloud Center of Excellence in Lithuania is going to be established by Denmark’s leading cloud solution company - Cloudeon ...... 29 One of the biggest companies in the healthcare sector opens a new office in Vilnius ...... 30 Plans for nonsubsidized wind Energy Park revealed ...... 31 „Continental“ coming to Lithuania ...... 32 Police Infrastructure PPP projects in Kaunas and Panevezys ...... 33 Co-investment Fund of 5 million euros for starts-up in the sector of transport and communications ...... 34 Railway electrification ...... 35 Modernization of the highway in Kaunas ...... 36

Photo: Rail Baltica

News on Rail Baltica

Executed by: Project Description Estonia, Latvia Rail Baltica is a greenfield rail transport infrastructure project aiming to and Lithuania integrate the Baltic States in the European rail network. It includes five European countries- Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and indirectly Finnland. The total length of line shall be 870 km. Investment est.: The trains will be powered environmentally friendly by electricity and reach EUR 5.8 billion up to 240 km/h for passenger- and up to 120 km/h for freight transport.

The project will be funded 85 % by EU. The first train launch at the newly Completion: constructed railway line is planned for 2026. 2026 News Rail Baltica has announced a tender on Detailed Technical Design Review and Design Expertise Services in three Baltic States.

In order to submit a valid proposal, the following criteria should be satisfied:

(i) the design must be expertised to conform with the national legislation, (ii)

it should fully conform with the Rail Baltica Design Guidelines, Technical Specifications and other requirements and legal acts, and (iii) the Technical assessment services have to be ready to extend the scope of review at an early Master Design stage. Interested parties should submit their proposal electronically by 2 March, 2020.

Estonia Eesti

Klauberg BALTICS Tallinn office Estonia pst 9, EE-10143 Tallinn Phone + 372 6 86 31 67

[email protected]

Contact Person: Partner Theis Klauberg, LL.M. Phone: +372 5 661 15 71 [email protected]

Photo: emerging-europe.com

Artificial Intelligence becomes a ground for cooperation between Estonia and Germany

Initiated by: Estonia and Artificial Intelligence Center (ARIC) Hamburg have signed a Government of memorandum of cooperation for enhancing collaboration between Estonian Estonia and and German businesses operating in the fields of AI, robots, smart cities Artificial and digitalization. Intelligence Center This time, the cooperation was initiated by Germany. Taking into account (ARIC) Hamburg their recent visits to Estonia and already established fruitful cooperation within scientific and political sectors, ARIC has expressed its interest in extending the scope of cooperation. “Estonia is a digital pathfinder in the world, showing the way in using digital technologies for the benefit of citizens.” – said Christian Pfromm, Chief Digital Officer of Hamburg. Now, two countries plan to exchange knowledge and work on common projects. Such large German companies as Airbus, Lufthansa and Bosch already have expressed their interest in working together with Estonia. Estonian side believes that cooperation with Germany will benefit both parties and move up the value chain towards higher value-added products and services, in order to remain competitive and increase productivity.

Photo: bercman.com

Estonian spin-offs are about to make a splash in 2020

Initiated by: During 2019, Estonian spin-offs were barely covered in the media – and The Tartu that is a big shortcoming. University The University of Tartu prefers to put knowledge into economic use, thus, it has highly contributed to the emergence of various spin-offs and projects Executed by: which are about to be implemented during 2020. The Tartu As one of its initiatives, the University of Tartu emphasizes the present and University, as well future potential of biotechnologies and argues that Tartu already now “It is as the other a town with a clean and academic environment that attracts many smart biggest people from Estonia and abroad” but there still are plenty of future universities and development opportunities. enterprises in Estonia Overall, Estonia cares about scientifical growth and encourages its promotion widely. Thus, the first smart pedestrian crosswalk which makes Year of crossing the street safer mostly for pedestrians, but also for cyclists was execution: opened in Tallinn. The unquickens of it is that it notifies the drivers and 2020 pedestrians of danger via artificial intelligence, interaction with self-driving vehicles and sensors, and combination of more than 30 different functions. Additionally, Estonian spin-offs include but are not limited to such areas as space, statistics, environment, biodiversity etc. Investment Agency of Estonia provides broader explanation on each of the mentioned areas and offers various investment opportunities for interested parties.

Photo: investestonia.com

Estonia invests in startups to find a new success story

Initiated by: The Estonia does not want to stop on its accomplishments with e-Residency and Ministry of looks for more solutions to export in the future. Economic Affairs The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has initiated a and program called Accelerate Estonia to turn its problems into economic Communications of development for Estonia. Estonia The government acknowledges that Accelerate Estonia cannot fight against Completion of all the existing problems, so the primaries directions were set out. the first phase The program will focus on problem solving both in the public and private expected: Second sectors, and each of the ideas chosen will receive funding in the amount of half of 2020 EUR 150,000. After that, the teams will be expected to create business plans and attract investors.

The ministry has developed four main ideas. Briefly, they focus on circular economy, cross-border e-CMR, “Know Your Customer” cross-border program and health and pension insurance for e-residents. More information about each project can be found on the home-page of Estonian Investment Agency.

Photo: ulemistecity.com

Ülemiste City – the first smart city in Baltics

Object: Lately, Ülemiste City in Estonia attracts a lot of attention. Now, the reason Ülemiste City is obvious - Ülemiste City is very closed to be called the first smart city in Baltics. Only thirteen years ago, the area which is now known as Ülemiste City was nothing but a garbage dump next to some dilapidated housing. However, as it can be seen today, this area is a location of the most exciting and innovative business campuses not only in Estonia but also in Europe. This is a place where more than 10 000 people work and more than 400 companies are located. The changes started about four or five years ago, when the first enterprises started their businesses in that area. Firstly, there were hundreds, then thousands of employees. At the same time, despite its rapid development, Ülemiste City tries to remain eco-friendly by incorporating electricity cars and by making flexible decisions which would not damage neither the customers, not the environment. Still, Ülemiste City develops gradually and sets very clear framework. At this point, however, it is almost evident that Ülemiste City has a high potential to be officially called the first smart city in Baltics.

Photo: www.news.err.ee

Driverless buses in Tallinn – the technological revolution has happened

Executed by: Tallinn was the first city in the Baltics which introduced driverless buses for Tallinn Transport public transportation purposes. Department and Currently, the driverless buses are operated in Kadriorg Park and its Tallinn University of Technology surroundings. For now, the buses do not operate on the ongoing bases, rather (Taltech) they carry passengers in the specific times indicated in the schedule which is still in the process of development – the final schedule will be arranged as soon as possible according to the demand of passengers. The main aim of driverless buses is to carry local people and tourists around the attractions of Kadriorg Park. According to director of Kumu (a museum in Kadriorg Park), Kadi Polli, it was a very good idea to bring a self-driving buses to Kadriorg.

The launch of the driverless buses is a part of bigger the Sohjoa Baltic project which is run by Tallinn Transport Department and Tallinn University of Technology. Their aim is to research and promote driverless electric minibuses as part of the public transport chain.

Talinn Aiport`s operator plans a terminal expansion by 2035

Object: Tallinn Aiport`s operator state owned AS Tallinna Lennujaam is planning to Tallinn Airport add a business campus to the existing structures and raise the capacity of the passenger terminal. Possible Start: - By 2035, up to 150,000 square meters of business, service and Planned accommodation premises are planned to be built on the airport campus. Completion:

2035 Tallinn Airport management board member and CFO Anneli Turkin said, that within the last five years they had grown practically by 50 percent or 1 million passengers. In total, the line of 3 million passengers was exceeded by the end of 2018. The current passenger terminal has been built for 2.6 million passengers though. Therefore the expanded passenger terminal of Tallinn Airport will be able to serve 6 to 8 million passengers per year by 2035.

New large scale project at Muuga Harbour

Estimated On June 28th 2018, the Port of Tallinn (“Tallinna Sadam”) and MPG business start: AgroProduction OÜ (“MPG”) signed a cooperation agreement and a building 2020 title agreement. These contracts have been concluded for a term of 99 years and lay the legal basis for the development of an oilseed processing and logistics complex at Muuga Harbour. Completion expected: Tallinna Sadam is one of the largest cargo and passenger port complexes in the Baltic Sea region, servicing 10.6 million passengers and 19.2 million tons 2024 of cargo in 2017; MPG is an Estonian company, established in 2017 by

European investors. Estimated cost: According to the agreements, MPG will construct a plant for processing EUR 200 million oilseed, a superstructure for loading and unloading raw material and end products on the quays, as well as loading facilities for transporting raw material and end products to and from Muuga Harbour using the railway and road network. The project will be located in the eastern part of the harbour and cover an area of about 50ha. MPG’s investment is estimated to total around € 200 million. The project is estimated to have a processing capability of about 1.5 million tons a year, which could result in total additional annual cargo volume of 2.5 million tonnes for Tallinna Sadam. In terms of employment, the project is expected to create 300 direct and around 1,000 indirect jobs.

Development of Kopli Liinid in Tallinn

Start: After years of failed attempts to find an investor and developer for the plot 2018 on the Kopli peninsula in northern Tallinn, development of the area has begun. Construction company Fund Ehitus OÜ will invest 60-65 Million Euros to turn the run-down area into a modern residential quarter. This part of northern Developer: Tallinn was for decades notorious as a place for drug addicts living in Fund Ehitus OU abandond houses and with regular house fires in winter. But now at last the area’s natural beauty and historical backround is to get the dignity it deserves Estimated costs: and will become an integral part of the city. Ca EUR 65 million The developer will renovate the local infrastructure, including a public beach. The site will have over 500 apartments and around 40 single-family homes. Construction starts with coastal quarters at the end of the peninsula. The Completion development’s first apartments are for sale already. expected:

Not indicated

13 © OpenStreetMap contributors

Bridge to Saaremaa: Financing to come from private investors

Estimated value: Estonian businessmen Raivo Hein and Raivo Kütt plan to construct a bridge Approx. using investments from the private sector and to break the current stalemate. EUR 500 million The plan to replace the ferry connection with a bridge or a tunnel between the mainland and the biggest Estonian island is not new. The project was discussed several years ago but remained unrealized because of financial and Possible environmental obstacles. Today, the construction of a bridge across the Completion: Suurväin Strait seems to be more realistic as – according to Raivo Hein and 2026 Raivo Kütt – the bridge project will no longer require governmental funds but will be carried out by private investors with the support of pension funds and bank loans. Future maintenance of the bridge will be covered by crossing fees, which will not exceed the price of ferry tickets. According to the project, the bridge will be built parallel to the ferry route and its construction will allow ferries to pass under it. The length of the bridge will be 7 kilometers and the maximum height 30 meters above sea level. According to preliminary estimates, construction of the bridge will take three years and will cost ca 500 million euros. Now, the new coalition agreement has put the proposed Saaremaa bridge back on the agenda. In Mr Hein`s opinion the bridge would be open to use by 2026, if he would plan the building project.

Tunnel from Tallinn to Helsinki

Completion Dubai engineering company ARJ Holding Ltd will invest EUR 100 expected: million. 2030 – 2035 According to Mr. Vesterbacka, chief at FinEst Bay Area, the group behind the Executed by: project, Dubai engineering company ARJ Holding Ltd will invest EUR 100 million in the undertaking. City Municipality of Tallinn The tunnel is suppose to connect Tallinn and Helsinki. It´s length would be around 90 km, depending on the route taken. It would significantly increase City Municipality the carriage of passengers as well as goods between the two states and of Helsinki connect the whole of Scandinavia into a single railway network. A submarine Finnish Transport tunnel would reduce the travel time between Tallinn and Helsinki to 20 Agency minutes, while it takes between two and three hours by ferry.

Mr. Vesterbacka estimates the total costs at EUR 15 billion. A preliminary Value est.: study estimates the period of return to be around 35-40 years. About 40-50 EUR 15 billion per cent of the construction costs should fall on the shoulders of the Estonian and Finnish governments and the EU. The rest is expected from private investors. Upon completion, the Tallinn-Helsinki tunnel would be the longest submarine tunnel in the world.

Latvia Latvija

Klauberg BALTICS Rīga office Alberta iela 13, Rīga, LV-1010 Phone + 371 6777 05 04 Fax + 371 6777 05 27 [email protected]

Contact Person: Partner Theis Klauberg, LL.M. Phone: +371 6777 05 04 [email protected]

Photo: buvinzenierusavieniba.lv

The New Riga Theater is going to be reconstructed

Completion of the The historic house of the New Riga Theater on Lāčplēša iela 25 have been construction passed to the construction company “RERE BŪVE 1” which is going to phase expected: renovate the building. Tender for development, author supervision, 2021 construction and maintenance of engineering communications for the construction project has been issued recently. Executed by: RERE BŪVE 1 The historical importance of the building is evident – it was founded in 1922 and became a starting point for many famous Latvian actorsб film and art directors. Already for a long time, the Theater is counted as an inventible part of Latvian cultural heritage, thus, is highly valuable for citizens of Riga and Latvians in general.

Photo: blog.docobit.com

Dokobit comes in Latvia

Executed by: Dokobit, a Lithuanian electronic signatures tool, has started to operate Dokobit in the in Latvia. co-operation Currently, the “Smart-ID” app is a leading tool of personal online identification with Smart-ID on Latvian market. As a result, the number of customers and users of the and e-ID. company grows, as well as a cross-border transactions take place. Therefore, the company decided to set up a separate office in Latvia. Dokobit was ready No significant to enter the Latvian market, as it already had an experience in working with dates included big entities in Baltics. In its activity, Dokobit sees co-operation with Smart-ID and e-ID. The procedure of signing a document should be very simple: all you need is to sign up using Smart-ID and e-ID, download the documents and then sign it with the electronic signature. Dokobit offers its services as for natural, as for legal persons. Consequently, the possible use of the app varies depending on its user. Currently, Dokobit operates on the territories of free Baltic states, Poland, Finland, Island and Belgium. In the near future, the company plans to start operating also in Nordic countries and Germany.

Photo: city24.ee

New multimodal business district in the heart of Riga

Object: Skanstes Near the old town and quiet center, there is a new business district developing City under the name of Skanste city, a multi modal business district in the heart of Riga. No significant Under the development by SG Capital, Skanste city is home for businesses dates included and rentals on 50.000m2 including modern class A and B office spaces of 130 m2. 90% of the space are already occupied by local and international companies including Krassky, Mintos, Bayer, Containerships, the State Audit Office of the Republic of Latvia etc. It provides several services to its tenants and guests ranging from restaurants, health care providers, kindergartens, scooter and care sharing and rental in an area that is considered as one of the most promising ones in Riga. Skanstes City is close to the city center and old town and is reachable by foot, bike, public transportation or car due to is good strategic position. Skanstes City has a great geographical location as it is surrounded by the biggest shopping centers and stores.

Photo: SEB Banka Latvia LinkedIn

First solar power plant in Baltics was opened in Salaspils

Executed by: In September, the first solar power plant in Latvia started to operate in “Salaspils Siltums” Salaspils. The project was carried out by limited liability company “Salaspils and SEB bank Siltums” and SEB bank. Starting from year 2020, the solar power plant will be used in order to provide heating to the residents of Salaspils, and this in turn, is expected to reduce heat rates by at least 5%. Value est.:

EUR 7.259 million The projected was started already in the February 2019 and before launching

it, “Salaspils Siltums” studied the worldwide use of solar energy for several years and pooled experience in selecting Denmark as one of the examples. The head of “Salaspils Siltums”, Ina Bērziņa–Veita, consider that solar power plant will not only ensure the daily needs of every person but also minimize the negative impact on the environment.

Overall, EUR 7.259 million were invested into the project.

Major changes to one of Riga’s most famous sights: TV tower

Significant By 2023, Rīga’s TV tower will be renovated and turned into a major tourist dates: attraction. Implementation to The project involves rebuilding the tower and its surroundings, resulting in be completed by creation of a glass-cubicle deck known as a “skywalk”, as well as an exciting November 2023 attraction called “walking on edge”. The project also involves creating the highest and heaviest Foucault pendulum in the world. And more: “Vēju roze” restaurant will open at a height of 94 metres, making the Rīga TV tower one of the most attractive and exciting places in Latvia to visit.

15 Business Incubators have been established

Period of the The Latvian Investment and Development Agency (LIAA) has established 15 programme: Business Incubators throughout Latvia to fund new regional companies and October 2016-End startups. of 2023 The incubators provide support to natural persons and merchants, that are Executed by: not registered for more than three years, with the necessary environment for business start-up and development, consultations, training and activities on LIAA general business issues, mentor support and grant co-financing.

Value est.: The EU provides around EUR 26.2 million, EUR 4.6 million will be paid from EUR 30.8 million the state budget.

Planning of bypass road for A7 highway

Designing and Bypass road to be built for one of Latvia’s most traffic-congested and Building Phase: busiest highways. 2020-2030 While the A7 highway is one of the busiest roads leading to Riga, it remains Executed by: highly congested and inconvenient for the residents of Kekava, a small town that the highway passes through. In fact, over 17,000 vehicles use the State Joint Stock highway on a daily basis, while the number of heavy transport vehicles Company “Latvian exceeds the optimal figure three times, thus substantially advancing road State Roads” surface decay.

In efforts to alleviate traffic problems and eliminate heavy traffic flow through Value: the town of Kekava, lawmakers are planning to build a 17-kilometer long EUR 80-100 bypass with numerous traffic hubs, tunnels and a bridge. The overall cost of million the project is expected EUR 80- 100 million. The Public Procurement process started in October 2018. The winning bid will be announced in December 2019. The actual designing and building phase shall start in 2020 and shall be completed in 2023.

Planning and development of multimodal transport hub

Completion A new multimodal transport hub infrastructure project is being expected by: developed in Riga 2024 Following a proposal set forth by the Ministry of Transportation, a new multimodal transport hub project is currently under development. Taking into Executed by: account the infrastructure changes caused by upcoming construction works for the completion of the Rail Baltica project, an area amounting to over Ministry of 40,000 square meters has been allocated for the purposes of setting up such Transport infrastructure center.

Consequently, local citizens will gain much needed access to various public Value: transportation options, thus curbing carbon emissions and substantially EUR 11 million eliminating other harm caused to the environment due to the heavy use of private vehicles. With a projected parking lot taking up almost 12,000 square meters, the planners expect to meet projected demand for years to come. Similarly, the center will include numerous commercial spaces to increase its attractiveness to investors from various industries.

Lithuania Lietuva

Klauberg BALTICS Vilnius office Olimpiečių str. 1-37, LT-09235 Vilnius Phone +370 5 241 69 94 [email protected]

Contact Person: Sigita Sriubaite-Stepuriene Phone: +370 6 192 87 87 [email protected]

Photo: defli.lt

The Rail Baltica tender for Rokai-Palemonas will be re-launched

Completion Kaunas railway junction is divided into four sections: Jiesia-Kaunas, expected: Jiesia-Rokai, Kaunas-Palemonas and Rokai-Palemonas. The latest is 2020 one of the most important parts of Kaunas railway junction.

Object: After five companies outbid each other regarding the Rokai-Palemonas Rokai-Palemonas section contract, Lithuania Railways announced that it has rejected any section of Kaunas railway bid and re-launched the tender. junction The contractor will be expected to construct, among other things a 7.6 km European standard track gauge. Part of the 7.6 km are on the territory of the Kaunas hydro power plant.

It is planned that the remaining construction works on the Kaunas- Palemonas section will be completed this year.

Photo: Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania

Lithuania lays foundation for wind power plants in the Baltic Sea

Executed by: Klaipėda University and the Ministry of Energy have conducted the Klaipėda research regarding the development of wind farms in the Baltic See in University and the order to achieve the state’s strategic renewable energy targets. Ministy of Energy Marine territories, where the development and operation of wind farms Planned would be feasible, were identified. It was found out that the best Completion: 2030 location for offshore wind development is 30 km from the Shore of Šventoji.

The final study presents the wind farms of various capacities that could be installed in the different zones, and assesses their development potential and how long it will take to prepare for their expansion. Further, Lithuanian Energy Agency (LEA) will initiate preparation of a special plan for the territory and a strategic environmental impact assessment.

Photo: evertiq.com

Lithuania attracts businesses from Germany

German electronic manufacturing service “Leesys” has opened a plant in Executed by: Lithuanian Panevėžys Free Economic Zone (FEZ). The company, which has Leesys been already recognized in Germany by local businesses and government, plans to work in its main field - electronics development and manufacturing, including design and production of electronic devices and systems, as well as inspection and testing of devices.

According to CEO of “Leesys” Dr. Arnd Karden, Lithuania has been chosen as a destination for launching the business due to skilled people, openness towards technical progress and the adequate infrastructure. Panevėžys FEZ played a significant role in the decision-making process – city allows the investors to start operations immediately after signing of the contract – which motivated “Leesys’s” decision to invest in Lithuania.

In its further work in Lithuania, “Leesys” sees the opportunity to collaborate with universities in Lithuania as it has been doing in Germany.

“Leesys” became one more international company which has chosen Lithuanian market. Recently, the same decision was made by such well- known enterprises as “MAAS Aviation”, “Cloudeon”, “McKesson” and more.

Photo: www.zdnet.com

Cloud Center of Excellence in Lithuania is going to be established by Denmark’s leading cloud solution company - Cloudeon

Developer: Cloudeon is Danish leading cloud company that provides innovative Cloudeon technologies for businesses and focuses on adoption, transformation, innovation and operations. Estimated costs: Not indicated According to John Vindahl Fabienke, VP of Cloudeon Professional Services, once he already had positive experience working in Lithuanian IT sphere by which high quality he was genuinely impressed. He is sure that by establishing

Cloud Center in Vilnius the potential of Lithuanian IT sphere will only increase.

The project means a lot for Lithuanian IT and technology market, as “in the context of digitalization, cloud technology will undoubtedly play a major role in the future’s digital economy. Cloudeon brings specialized knowledge and experience to the growing IT sector in Lithuania, and this will create new jobs and attract skilled professionals” says Virginijus Sinkevičius, Minister of Economy and Innovation of Lithuania.

Photo: rus.delfi.lt One of the biggest companies in the healthcare sector opens a new office in Vilnius

Executed McKesson Europe, part of McKesson Corporation, recently started to operate in the by: Baltics – particularly, in Vilnius, Lithuania. McKesson The decision to open an office in Vilnius was not spontaneous, rather it was Corporation preceded by a detailed selection process. Such criteria as talent availability (skills, language, education, experience), infrastructure and accessibility were taken into account. “During our site visits in Vilnius we met with local government authorities, recruitment and labor market experts, and held engaging and productive discussions”, said Alain Vachon, CFO McKesson Europe. Overall, Vilnius was considered as the perfect place for starting business due to its friendly economy and developed infrastructure. Now, the primary specialization of the company is expansion of healthcare by improving the speed, efficiency and quality of the company’s finance operations.

Plans for nonsubsidized wind Energy Park revealed

Investment E energija group announces plans for a 150 MW wind energy park planned for: E energija ‒ a holding of 12 companies, already active for more than 20 years 2018-2023 in the energy sector ‒ has announced plans to construct a 150 MW wind energy park in Lithuania. Executed by: E energija has indicated an intention to carry out the plan without relying on E energija group subsidies or other state-dependent measures. If successful, this would be one of the first significant renewable energy projects in Lithuania that does not

rely on state support and funding. Value est.:

EUR 150 million

„Continental“ coming to Lithuania

Investment Continental officially announced the beginning of its new planned until : manufacturing plant in Kaunas Free Economic Zone 2023 The tire manufacturing giant officially started the construction of its Executed by: manufacturing plant in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone (Kaunas FEZ). This project is considered as one of the most important projects in the rapidly Continental developing Kaunas FEZ, which attracts continuous investments and attention

during the last years.

Continental also revealed its plans to invest EUR 95 mln. and create 1 000 Value est.: new job positions in the upcoming five years. EUR 95 million

Police Infrastructure PPP projects in Kaunas and Panevezys

The project is Many soviet-era police buildings in Lithuania are out of date and unsuitable expected to be for today’s police functions. To address this issue, the Police Department, completed by : under the Ministry of the Interior, has launched a tender for Police 2032 Infrastructure PPP projects in Kaunas and Panevezys. Potential private partners expressing interest in these PPPs will have to participate in a negotiated procedure. Negotiating the tender consists of two Executed by: parts: one dedicated to Kaunas police infrastructure PPP and the other to Police Department Panevezys police infrastructure PPP. This means that two separate contracts under the Ministry will need to be signed. Total length of the contracts is 15 years. Selected of the Interior private partners will have responsibilities such as design, construction of buildings, maintenance and financing of the police stations. The fifteen-year contracts will be divided into two parts: the first three years of the total project is dedicated to design and construction of buildings and the remaining twelve years is to be dedicated to building maintenance. Capital expenditure on the project is set at 12.4 million Euro for the Kaunas project and 14.8 million Euro for the Panevezys project. The deadline for investors interested in taking part in this project to submit participation requests for the Police Infrastructure PPP tender is 11:00 on 16 August.

Co-investment Fund of 5 million euros for starts-up in the sector of transport and communications Executed by: The fund of EUR 5 million was established to promote enterprises to create Ministry of mobility services and products, intellectual transport systems and innovative Transport and transport technologies that reduce CO2 emission generated by transport. It Communications, is planned that the fund will be increased up to EUR 10 million upon receipt Ministry of of the first results. Finance, and UAB INVEGA The fund was established by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ministry of Finance, and UAB “Investicijų ir verslo garantijos” (Guarantees of Value est.: Investments and Business Ltd) (INVEGA) using the EU Cohesion Fund’s money. EUR 5 million

Eventually increased to EUR Additionaly the companies “Lithuanian Railways”, “Lithuanian Post” and “Road 10 million Maintenance” supervised by the Ministry of Transport and Communications have established the Transport Innovations Centre in the beginning of this

year. It shall encourage innovations in the sector of transport and communications and to attract foreign capital companies to Lithuania.

Photo: Jindřich Běťák

Railway electrification

Project is Lithuanian part of the interstate railway connection with Belarus is expected to be set for electrification completed by : 2022 It is expected to electrify the whole railway line section beginning at Lithuania- Belarus border and ending in Klaipėda. Overall project is considered to be Executed by: worth EUR 349.1 million where EUR 224.1 million should be funded by EU Cohesion Fund and the rest by “Lietuvos geležinkeliai” AB. Lietuvos geležinkeliai AB The railway part, which is planned to be electrified, is a part of the IXB corridor and, according to “Lietuvos geležinkeliai” AB, use of it constitues a 3/4 cargo

transportation turnover and 2/3 passenger transportation turnover. The Value est.: Ministry of Tranport and Communications expects the project to improve the EUR 349.1 million railway use efficiency even more. Project is expected to be completed by 2022.

Modernization of the highway in Kaunas

The whole Essential transport intersection and bridge in the main national project is highway and part of Via Baltica planed for modernization expected to be completed by: Considering the road overload and a necessity to improve traffic conditions 2024 for transit and intermingling local city transport, the road section of A1, biggest and busiest national highway (a part of pan-Baltic Via Baltica) is Executed by: planned to be modernized and adapted to the increased traffic flow. Road It is planed to modernize the road section near Kaunas by expanding it to 8 Administration traffic lines: 4 lines for transit traffic and 4 connecting roads for local traffic. under the Ministry Construction of a new bridge with two lines and modernization of the existing of Transport and 54 year old bridge is included in the project. Communications Public tender for preparing the design is planned to be announced in 4-5 months and public tender for implementing the project in 9-10 months. New Value est.: bridge with two traffic lines is expected to be finished by 2019 and the overall project completion date is set on 2024. Estimated project price is EUR 100 EUR 100 million million where EUR 60 million would be allocated to the bridges construction.