EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Good for Business, Latvia, Port, Transport

He did not give any exact date but said that the construction works could be completed by October or November.

Then stevedores operating in the Riga port will have time until January 1, 2019, to adjust their logistics arrangements to use of the new facilities in Krievu Sala.

For stevedores, it will mean costs and inconvenience because for a while they will be handling coal cargos both at the old site and in Krievu Sala, Zeltins said, adding that no coal handling will be allowed at the old site close to the city center after January 1, 2019.

The project is being implemented in accordance with the schedule, Zeltins said, noting that the schedule for the remaining works was tight. However, there are no major risks to timely completion of the project, although unfavorable weather conditions may cause some delay.

Zeltins said that the new port infrastructure will be multi-functional, allowing for handling of not only coal but also container cargos, for example.

As reported, the purpose of the Krievu Sala infrastructure development project is to move the port operations, in particular reloading of coal, away from the Riga center, transferring them to a more remote location in the Krievu Sala area.

The total cost of the project is EUR 151.8 million, of which eligible costs are EUR 123.24 million and the co-funding from the EU Cohesion Fund is EUR 75.83 million.

The European Commission is due to review the implementation of the project in late March 2019 when it will determined whether the project would get the full amount of the planned EU funding.