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Friday, 29.03.2024, 13:36
Russian red tape delays opening of pedestrian checkpoint on Estonian-Russian border
Construction works have been virtually completed also on the Russian side, Lilia Zujeva, project manager at the Interior Ministry's financial department, told BNS.
Zujeva said it's formal procedures in Russia that take the extra time. First, the Russian Justice Ministry must give its endorsement, then the federal government has to issue an order and only after that can the checkpoint be opened, she said.
All this is estimated to take about two months. "We hope that the border checkpoint can be opend by the beginning of March," the official added.
The checkpoint of the pedestrian crossing is situated in a two-story building next to the gates of what used to be the Kreenholmi Manufaktuur textile factory. Pedestrians cross the river separating the two countries by a 184.5-meter bridge built in 1980.
The Estonian state real estate management company RKAS and the construction company Ehitus5ECO OU signed an agreement in June 2015 on the reconstruction of the Narva-2 checkpoint and the pedestrian bridge for 777,000 euros. The works are financed using funds of the Estonia-Latvia-Russia cross-border program for 2007-2013 under the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI).