"The first section from Vangaži to the Latvian-Estonian state border is assigned to company consortium INECO-ARDANUY. The contract amount is EUR 13 523 414,78.
"The second section of the line from Misa to the Latvian-Lithuanian state border is awarded to another company consortium IDOM, Consulting, Engineering, Architecture S.A.U. The contract amount is EUR 6 903 802,5," RB Rail said in a news release.
“I am pleased that the implementation of the Rail Baltica project is continuing during this difficult period. It is important to increase the design speed so that construction works can be started in Latvia as soon as possible. The active construction phase of Rail Baltica, which will begin at Riga Central Station this autumn, will be one of the factors contributing to Latvia’s economic development and will help to recover from the effects of Covid-19. The start of construction work in Latvia will create new jobs and make a significant contribution to the development of construction-related industries,” said Tālis Linkaits, Latvian Minister of Transport.
“With the signing of the two contracts, design activities are ongoing for the entire Rail Baltica line in Latvia as well as in the two passenger terminals in Riga Central Station and the airport,” said Agnis Driksna, Chairperson of the Management Board of RB Rail AS.
The section from Vangaži to the Latvian-Estonian State border is the longest design section in Latvia at 94 km long and the design work will take 30 months. According to the preliminary design developed in 2014-2016 in Latvia, it includes 13 bridges, 36 road viaducts, 3 railway viaducts, 119 culverts and 3 animal crossings.
The section from Misa to the Latvian-Lithuanian border is 45 km long and design work will take 24 months. According to the preliminary design this section includes 4 bridges, 16 road viaducts, 4 railway viaducts, 54 culverts and 1 animal crossing.
Selected contractors will be responsible for site investigations, value engineering, development of the master design and detailed technical design for construction of the railway track, and author supervision during the entire construction period.
85% of the funding necessary for these Rail Baltica design works is provided by the European Union and 15% by the Latvian Government.
INECO is a Spanish company that has been working in transport engineering and consultancy for 50 years, including more than 20 years of experience in high-speed rail industry. The ompany operates in more than 50 countries and employing a team of 3000 professionals. Together with ARDANUY, they have already been working on q Rail Baltica study for the Development of the Rail Baltica Energy Subsystem Procurement and Deployment Strategy in early 2019.
IDOM Consulting is another Spanish company with more than 20 years of experience in designing conventional and high-speed rail in Europe, America, Middle East, and Africa. Recently, the company has been involved in high-speed projects in Spain, Poland and Sweden. IDOM employs 3 500 people in 45 offices worldwide. IDOM is currently involved in the detailed technical design of Rail Baltica main line in two sections in Estonia, two in Lithuania as well as for the main line section through Riga.
