Rail Baltica airport station construction to begin in May

A contract has been signed that construction of the “Rail Baltica” station and the related infrastructure at the Rīga International Airport will begin in May, project implementer "Eiropas Dzelzceļa Līnijas" said on March 2.

The Rail Baltica station and infrastructure will be built by the association of persons “B.S.L. Infra”. The association consists of the Austrian company Swietelsky AG and the Latvian construction companies “Binders” and “LNK Industries”.

The works are scheduled to be carried out sequentially, in five phases, until December 2025. The first phase of the work – the construction of the railway infrastructure of Rail Baltica from Imanta to the airport as well as the construction of the station terminal – will have to be carried out by March/April 2023. 

The total contract amount is EUR 236 961 150 (excluding VAT).

Transport Minister Tālis Linkaits (New Conservative Party) said that the signing of a construction contract is a positive signal for stimulating the economy and will create hundreds of new jobs over the next five years, contributing to the growth of the gross domestic product.

“The investments made in infrastructure will allow the strengthening of the position of Rīga as the Baltic aviation hub. This will provide convenient traffic between Rīga and the regions of Latvia. The airport will also be more accessible to the residents of Lithuania and Estonia,” Linkaits said.

Kaspars Vingris, Chair of the Eiropas Dzelzceļa Līnijas Board, added that the creation of the new infrastructure will also enable freight handling services to be expanded. This will help to strengthen the status of Latvia as an international destination and transit country. 

"The building project is large and complex. 32 institutions were involved in its preparation and a large part of the work has been done in challenging – pandemic – conditions,” said Vingris.

Source: eng.lsm.lv