Funds, Innovations, Investments, Markets and Companies

This new function for Invest Lithuania has been assigned by the amendment of the rules for the planning, revision, usage, accounting and control of funds earmarked for state investment by the Lithuanian government.

The amendment is aimed at ensuring that only infrastructure projects that potential private partners find attractive are added to next year’s State Investment Programme. According to the amendment, state institutions and agencies will have to provide the Ministry of Finance with a report evaluating the market attractiveness of any investment project with a value of over €25 mln before submitting the project for inclusion in the State Investment Programme.

Invest Lithuania’s role in this process will be to complete a market consultation with potential partners and investors for each project. After identifying whether there are any interested parties, Invest Lithuania will provide state institutions and agencies with recommendations on whether the infrastructure project can be implemented together with private partners.

The agency has been given this role thanks to its extensive experience in establishing and promoting public private partnership (PPP) projects in Lithuanian. Having started working on PPP projects in 2010, Invest Lithuania has made considerable contributions to the development of more than a dozen projects, helping to create ventures that meet the needs of both public and private interests.

According to Mr. Tadas Jagminas, Director of the Project Management Department at Invest Lithuania, the experience his team has gained while preparing and facilitating PPP projects will be invaluable for this new role.  “By constantly improving the system for drawing up the State Investment Programme, the creation of a pipeline of attractive infrastructure projects could be ensured,” he adds. “It also enables us to accelerate the whole process for implementing infrastructure projects. Moreover, the decision to consult with private parties before the launch of each project will not only bring more opportunities for public-private collaboration, but will also inspire confidence in the market.”