RB Rail AS and CINEA signed an additional EUR 353.9 million CEF cross-border grant agreement for the Rail Baltica global project. EUR 422.7 million is the total budget of the agreement with a EU contribution of 85% while the remaining financial contribution will be provided by the governments of the three Baltic States. In June, CINEA announced the CEF2 funding for Rail Baltica part of the second call for proposals which provides EUR 5.4 billion for transport projects with 80% being allotted to railways.
The agreement was signed between the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia, the Ministry of Transport of Latvia and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Lithuania and Rail Baltica joint venture RB Rail AS.
“Today it is more important than ever to ensure tight cross-border cooperation between the partners in the three Baltic countries to deliver the Rail Baltica and maintain its position amongst the top priority high-speed infrastructure projects in the European Union. Rail Baltica is no longer a necessity, it is an obligation, and the additional financing granted will allow us to meet the critical targets and further advance with Rail Baltica construction and delivery as a united Baltic project,” Agnis Driksna, the CEO of RB Rail AS said.
The grant will support the designs of the remaining Rail Baltica mainline, including the Poland/Lithuania border to Kaunas urban node, the design of Kaunas – Vilnius section and the Kaunas and Vilnius urban nodes.
The funding will also be used for the construction of Rail Baltica mainline in Latvia – to start in 2023 at Latvia/Lithuania border, and the development of detailed technical design for the construction base in Skulte infrastructure maintenance facility that is located on the North section in Latvia towards the Latvia/Estonia border.
In Estonia, the European financing will support the construction of substructure and associated elements on the Rail Baltica mainline, including Ülemiste operational point and design works for capercaillie mitigation measures on section from Pärnu to the Estonia/Latvia border.
The activities aimed to ensure cross-border dimension and technical interoperability, including Notified Body (NoBo) and Assessment Body (AsBo) assessment services for design and construction works, and supervision, analysing the relevant models for the cross-border section construction procurement will also be implemented using these funds.
Also, an activity dedicated to climate proofing methodology development and screening proofing document, including verification process, is recommended for financing.
This CEF cross-border grant supports “key work and design activities along the whole Rail Baltica alignment in the three Baltic States. This is the eight CEF action supporting the implementation of Rail Baltica and the first grant awarded to this important project in the 2021-2027 financing period,” Morten Jensen Head of Unit at CINEA said.
The considerable amount of this financing recommended for the Rail Baltica global project will be added to the already available financing from the 2014-2021 financial period where more than EUR 1.2 billion is available for Rail Baltica implementation, out of which 85% comes from the Connecting Europe Facility.
Share on:
