The candidates from 8 countries - Latvia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, France, Turkey, and Austria - will have to submit a technical and financial offer to the Rail Baltica project implementer in Latvia, Eiropas Dzelzceļa Līnijas, by August 3, 2020.
In the 2nd stage of the tender for the construction of #RailBaltica station at the @riga_airport
— RailBalticaOfficial (@RailBaltica) May 11, 2020
and its related infrastructure, 11 candidates from 8 countries have qualified: Latvia, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, France, Turkey and Austria. Read more:https://t.co/eWgnr2nrD8 pic.twitter.com/UU4J2vJXwy
By the end of 2020, it is planned to sign a contract with the winner of the competition in order to launch the works in 2021.
Kaspars Vingris, Chairman of the Board of Eiropas Dzelzceļa Līnijas, acknowledged that the competition was intense.
"Applications that have been submitted are all professional and high-quality, allowing all 11 candidates to qualify for the second stage of the competition. This leads to believe that the contest will result in equally high-quality technical and financial offers, and we will be able to choose the best and most cost-effective solution," said Vingris.
Due to the state of emergency in the country, applicants cannot see the route on site. They will familiarize themselves with the territory using material filmed with a drone.
In November 2019, Eiropas Dzelzceļa Līnijas launched an international competition to find candidates for building the station and related infrastructure of Rail Baltica at the Riga International Airport.
It was previously estimated that the total amount of the procurement would be between €250 and €280 million. Construction is planned in five rounds.
Tālis Linkaits, Minister of Transport of Latvia said: “[The] Rail Baltica station at the Riga International Airport will be the first high-speed rail and air connection center in the Baltics. The Rail Baltica project is one of the catalysts for Latvia's economic development. It will connect the Baltics with the European railway network. The active construction phase of the project will start at the end of this year with construction works at the Riga Central Station and will continue with the construction works in the Riga International Airport and the main line of Rail Baltica.”
Context:
The contract for the construction of the Rail Baltica station at Riga International Airport was concluded in March 2018. Of the five associations participating in the competition for the design of the railway branch, the company "Prosiv" was selected, consisting of the Italian company "Sintagma", the Slovak company "Prodex" and the Latvian company "Vector T". The design price is €4.5 million, including the construction engineering supervision until 2025 when the station is planned to be finished.
