The amount publicly quoted so far for the Rail Baltica project is €39 million, which is the amount needed to meet the commitments with the builders. The government has no such money to pay. The government decided in a coalition meeting not to pay the invoices immediately, but first to review the contracts and do everything possible to reduce the increase.
On Tuesday, the government decided to pay the invoices that have been approved by an engineer from the International Federation of Engineering Consultants. The works, for which invoices amounting to €9.6 million have been received, have been accepted and approved by the client, Transport Minister Kaspars Briškens (Progressives) said.
The Ministry of Transport (SM) has reallocated funds to pay €5.7 million of invoices, while the remaining €3.8 million will come from the "Contingency funds" program of the state budget.
As the SM pointed out,13 different audits have so far been carried out on the airport and station construction contracts, which have not revealed any non-compliance or any other breach of the regulatory enactments on the application of price adjustments.
In addition to inflation, changes in technical requirements have also increased costs. As a result of the changes in the technical requirements, the value of the construction contract for the Riga Central Railway Station has risen by €135 million, while the value of the construction contract for the Airport Station has grown by €6 million, according to the SM.
Currently, Eiropas Dzelzceļa Līnijas (EDzL), which is responsible for the construction of Rail Baltica on Latvian territory, is continuing active negotiations with the builders.
