Construction, EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Investments, Lithuania, Port, Transport

Once the port's breakwaters are reconstructed and its shipping channel is deepened to 17 meters, Klaipeda will open up to large ships capable of entering the Baltic Sea, the port's authority said. The project is scheduled to be completed by 2023.

The port's CEO Algis Latakas says the reconstruction of breakwaters will allow the port to accept larger vessels. "If we look down on the Baltic Sea from above, we could see some 2,000 ships but part of them Klaipeda would need very much, unfortunately, cannot enter the port of Klaipeda. These are big ships that bring cargoes to Brazil, China and other far countries," Latakas told journalists on Friday.

"Klaipeda should see a major breakthrough with this project as we should reach port parameters to be able to welcome the biggest ships, and then, competitively, that factor that Klaipeda cannot accept big ships will be gone," he added.

Effort will be made to ensure that reconstruction work does not interfere with ship traffic, Latakas said.

The work will be done by a consortium of Germany's Hecker Bau GmbH & Co. KG and Belgium's Herbosch – Kiere. The two companies have carried out major infrastructure projects in Hamburg, Antwerp and elsewhere.

85% of the project's costs will be covered by the European Union, and the port will provide the rest.

The existing breakwaters in Klaipeda were built some 150 years ago.