On 10 October, SJSC “State Real Estate” (SRE) accepted the work carried out by the construction company SIA “Nordes būve” on two sections of the Latvian-Russian border with a total length of about 21 km in Šķilbēni and Vecumi rural territories located in Balvi Municipality. In total, the Latvian-Russian border fence has now been constructed along approximately 80% of the total length of the border (222 out of 283 km). Approximately 57 km of the fence still remain under construction and about half of that distance is planned to be completed this year, while the remaining 28 km of the fence located in difficult, hard-to-access areas will be completed by the end of October next year, informs Renārs Griškevičs, the Chairperson of the Board of SRE.
Gradual acceptance of the works planned this year in other sections of the Latvian-Russian border is expected during the upcoming two months. The SRE has concluded 16 contracts with a total of 6 contractors for the performance of works. Construction works are currently being continued by the following contractors: SIA “Citrus Solutions”, SIA “HAGBERG Construction”, SIA “Nordes būve”, PS “P un P Būvniecības grupa”, SIA “Baltic Construction Company” (BCC), and VAS “Latvijas autoceļu uzturētājs”. In cooperation with the National Armed Forces, the construction of a 20 km long fence was completed this past September, which was a unique cooperation model, where the SRE performed the functions of a general contractor, organised the procurement of all materials and resources, and managed the construction process.
“Construction works have been divided into a total of 18 parts so that they can be carried out at the same time in order to minimise risks and achieve the fastest possible completion dates. In addition, floating fence supports or pontoons are being installed in several places in swampy areas. Currently, pontoons have been built only along over 4 km of the total distance of 8 km planned for this year. A total of 24 km of pontoons are expected to be in place by the end of October next year. At the moment we see that the construction of the fence and infrastructure is even slightly ahead of schedule and we see that we will achieve our goals,” Renārs Griškevičs, the Chairperson of the Board of SRE, said with confidence.
Construction works of the missing fence along the Latvian-Russian border have been carried out under the management of the SRE since April this year. Previously, the fence of 99 km along the Latvian-Russian border was constructed by SIA “Ceļu būvniecības sabiedrība “Igate”” until the works were suspended in 2019. Within the framework of the previously concluded contract with the State Border Guard, the elimination of the identified deficiencies of the border fence and infrastructure (4 footbridges, patrol trails) in the respective 99 km section was started last week by SIA “Igate” without additional funding. Also this work will be completed by the end of October next year.
In the summer of 2023, by trusting in the experience and expertise of the SRE, the company was also assigned with the task to manage, implement, and supervise the construction of the fence and infrastructure along 283.6 km of the external eastern border of the EU with Russia, where the SRE organises the necessary procurements, concludes procurement contracts, and monitors the progress. In the autumn of 2021, it was also agreed that the SRE would manage, implement, and supervise the construction of the infrastructure along the external border with Belarus, where the construction of the fence was completed in July this year.
Several organisations are involved in strengthening the eastern border. The SRE is responsible for managing and organising the construction process, including the selection of contractors through tenders, the Provision State Agency is responsible for the alienation of the necessary land plots, net-deforestation is carried out by AS “Latvijas valsts meži”, while the Latvian Radio and Television Centre is responsible for implementing technological solutions and also cooperation with the border and infrastructure users, i.e. the State Border Guard and the Ministry of the Interior.
Implementation of the Eastern Border Construction Project is supervised by the Outer Border Infrastructure Construction Supervisory Committee, which is composed of representatives from the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economics, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, the State Border Guard, the Provision State Agency, the Latvian Radio and Television Centre, AS “Latvijas Valsts meži”, the Latvian Geospatial Information Agency, and the National Armed Forces.
About SRE
Currently, 110 projects with a total investment of EUR 410 million are being implemented under the guidance of SJSC “State Real Estate”. SRE provides professional real estate management and maintenance for 427 building and structure properties, comprising 1089 buildings with a total area of 0.996 million m2, as well as land beneath structures with a total area of 591 ha, and 3261 land properties with a total area of 895 ha. SRE is one of 17 Latvian companies that in 2023 received the highest platinum award as part of the Sustainability Index of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, confirming the good governance and sustainability of its operations. The company was founded in 1996, the State of Latvia holds 100% ownership and the Ministry of Finance is the holder of State capital shares.
