A vision for the development of the Daugava waterfront in Rīga, Andrejsala district, was presented on May 22 in the presence of the main investor Mohamed Ali Alabbar, ministers of the United Arab Emirates, some MPs, influencers and other invitees. Alabbar, the CEO of Eagle Hills, promises to invest three billion euros in the "Riga Waterfront" project to build apartments, hotels, and more.
Although the vision of the Riga Waterfront development is accompanied by an unprecedented advertising campaign, the project as a whole is still under the radar, as the authorities know very little about it.
The Riga Waterfront concept has not been officially submitted to the Riga City Council.
If the solutions differ significantly from the existing Andrejsala plan, a new detailed plan will most likely have to be drawn up, the Riga City Council said.
The Andrejsala area is located next to the Free Port of Rīga but not needed for the port, and has been in search of identity. There have been plans to build a museum of contemporary art, later a concert hall, but none of this has materialized.
"It is good that the waterfront is being developed because Rīga has not managed its waterfront for more than 100 years since the market was closed down," says Artūrs Lapiņš, chairman of the Riga Historical Center Preservation and Development Council and president of the Latvian Association of Architects, about the idea in general.
On the other hand, he notes that the project envisages very dense development, which architects need to balance well with the Old Town landscape and think about the transport infrastructure.
"With so many people, they are not all going to be on yachts, there will probably be other means of transport. In those visualizations, there is a tram. There might have been some discussion with the city council, maybe not, to provide transport, but the cars weren't really [visible] and there's not really space for parking in that area. This is something that could cause problems for the environment if the project goes ahead," Lapiņš said.
"Riga Waterfront" explains in its written response that the first phase of the project is planned closer to Eksporta Street, where there are already connections to the city's infrastructure. The first building is expected to be completed in 2027. The whole project may take 10-15 years. Borrowing for the project is expected to be minimal.
Alabbar is the largest shareholder and money contributor to Riga Waterfront, while his Latvian partners are contributing land. The owner of the site, NĪ Holdings, is indirectly owned by family members of Andris Šķēle and Ainārs Šlesers (Latvia First), as well as Leonīds Esterkins, a shareholder in Rietumu Bank.
It seems that the developers of the Riga Waterfront project have decided to revive the virtually defunct sale of residence permits. Potential buyers of the apartments are promised a residence permit in the European Union in exchange for 250 thousand euros.
Investors are enticed to become residents of Latvia and the European Union on the project's website, which also promises a strange tunnel-like bridge across the Daugava.
"Of course, I have not assessed [the project] in detail from an economic point of view. I know that very serious investments are planned, several billion, but it definitely does not guarantee in any way the right to stay in Latvia," explains Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis (New Unity).
He says that all persons who want to obtain residence permits are carefully checked, and the investor portfolio of this project, if it gets that far, will also have to be assessed in detail.
"This should not be a target - invest and you will be able to move freely within the Schengen area. Today, this is being looked at very carefully, not only by Latvia, but also by the Member States as a whole," the Minister said.
MP Šlesers was once one of the initiators of the residence permit program, launched in 2010, which meant that foreign investors contributing over EUR 250,000 could get a residence permit or the so-called 'golden visa'.
Most of the permits were bought by Russian citizens at the time.
After the Russian invasions of Ukraine in both 2014 and 2022, the program was restricted and gradually dwindled. Last year, only 27 property buyers applied for a residence permit, compared to 2,250 ten years ago.
"If there are citizens from other countries, wealthy people, and if someone buys property here, invests in a business or works for a company, Latvian law allows that they can apply for a residence permit. Whether they will do it or not, it is difficult for me to say," Šlesers said.
Asked whether foreigners are the main audience for the Riga Waterfront project, Šlesers says that at least half will be local buyers. "What I can assure you is that refugees from war zones - from Iraq, from Syria, from other countries of that kind - will not come here, thank God," he said.
In its written reply, Riga Waterfront stresses that it does not foresee residence permits as the main driver for the sale of apartments.
The business plan for such a large-scale development of Andrejsala is incomprehensible. Aigars Šmits, the head of the real estate company "Arco Real Estate", has said that it is impossible to recoup such a large investment in Latvia. He assumes that Riga Waterfront apartments could cost around EUR 4,000 per square meter, but there were only 25 transactions in this price category in the Riga city center apartment segment last year. Alabbar envisages 8,000 dwellings.
"It is clear that Eagle Hills is carefully assessing the market situation and settings. Such projects require attention to local market supply and demand. This analysis will determine the pace of development of Riga Waterfront," Hisham Ibrahim, spokesman for Riga Waterfront, said in a written reply to LTV.
A project similar to Riga Waterfront has been under construction for several years in Belgrade, where it sparked protests from residents.
In Rīga, only a memorandum has been signed so far between Alabbar and Mayor Vilnis Ķirsis.
