Implementer of the Rail Baltica project in Latvia – company Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas – on 12th of November has launched the largest tender for the construction of a railway line in Latvia.
The aim of the tender “Rail Baltica main line construction in Latvia” is the early contractor involvement to ensure the construction works of the Rail Baltica railway mainline and infrastructure in Latvia (outside the capital city of Riga). International tender for construction works will be held in two stages. It is planned to conclude a contract with the winner of the tender at the end of 2022 and the construction of the new railway line can start in the first half of 2023.
Up to 85% of the project is financed from the Connecting Europe Facility and the remaining part by the Latvian state budget.
Tālis Linkaits, Minister of Transport: ”This is an important next step in the development of Rail Baltica that certifies Latvia's readiness to implement the project as soon as possible. Already for a year the reconstruction of Riga Central station has been proceeding and the construction of the Rail Baltica infrastructure at Riga International Airport has also started. We are now taking main steps to be prepared for the construction of the new railway line. It is intended to be implemented sequentially in accordance with the readiness of the sections. The most technically prepared section is the southern part to the Lithuanian border. In this way, we can do our best to ensure that Latvia is connected to the European railway system in 2026 as planned and the people of Latvia can assess the benefits of the new railway line for convenient everyday journeys.”
Henrik Hololei, European Comission Director-General for Mobility and Transport: “This announcement is good news for Rail Baltica and the North Sea Baltic corridor! The mainline is a key missing link on the corridor and it is essential to bring the Baltic region – from Kaunas, to Tallinn and beyond – closer and better connect it to central Europe. It underlines the importance Latvia attaches to Rail Baltica and is fully in line with the European Commission’s position on the importance of the North-South connection.”
"It is important that despite the challenges and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic the project partners can work in cooperation and make decisions that are important for the future development of the project. This is clearly the case with this procurement,” says Agnis Driksna, RB Rail AS Chief Executive Officer and Chairperson of the Management Board. This is the first of the upcoming tenders of Rail Baltica main line announced under the new financial planning period 2021-2027. Relatively soon there will be new procurements in Estonia and Lithuania confirming the maturity of the project and the unified implementation of the project at all stages of the route.”
Kaspars Vingris, Chairman of the Board of Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas: ”Construction in Latvia has been rapidly growing since the beginning of construction in Rail Baltica multimodal hub in the end of 2020. Also, the construction of the second strategically important object of Rail Baltica at the airport has been launched. Now we are prepared to ensure sequential construction of the entire line in Latvia. This tender will be the largest for the construction of the mainline in Latvia. Early contractor involvement is an internationally accredited practice that allows to consolidate the responsibility for project execution while ensuring the so-called adaptive construction process: construction will be carried out in line with the maturity of the phases of the project allowing more efficient use of financial resources and construction materials as well as to act responsibly within the available EU funding. Such practice secures resource mobilization of the selected company and allows to provide consultations during the design process what leads to effective construction cost optimization.”
The winner of the tender will have to provide construction works – substructure and superstructure - of Rail Baltica railway line for more than 200 km in the territory of Latvia and outside the limits of Riga city which includes preparation of the territory, construction of embankments, railway bridges, roads, overpasses and rails and shift of networks.
The construction of railway electrification and signaling systems will not be procured within the framework of the announced tender for the construction of the main line. In order to implement a common approach to the development of these systems throughout the Rail Baltica railway line, taking into account the complexity of these systems and the high requirements for system safety, such procurement is planned centrally for the main route in all three Baltic States by RB Rail AS.
Given the scope of the tender, the candidate must have many years of experience in the construction of railways and other engineering infrastructure. Contracting authority is willing to attract construction companies with an annual turnover appropriate to the scale of the project. Previous experience in implementing the Rail Baltica project in Latvia has shown that Latvian construction companies form partnerships with foreign professionals, approbating local and global experience in the executions of such projects.
The candidate must have a quality management and environmental management systems and be experienced in a building information modeling (BIM) environment.
An international tender will allow to choose the best combination of cost and professional experience within candidates.
Tender will be held in two stages: during the first stage candidates will be selected therefore evaluation and discussions of proposals, submission of final proposals and the conclusion of the procurement contract will take place in the second stage.
Candidates must apply for the tender by 28 January 2022. The second stage is planned to be announced in April 2022 in order to conclude a contract with the winner of the second procurement stage at the end of 2022 and start construction works in the first half of 2023.
Procurement regulations and all its annexes are available on the E-Tenders system on webpage: https://www.eis.gov.lv/EKEIS/Supplier/Procurement/60093
Construction works for other sections and structures will be procured in separate tenders, including sections of the mainline in the city of Riga (from Riga Airport to Torņkalns Station and from the Central Railway Station to Acone), Rail Baltica cross-border sections on the Estonian-Lithuanian border (total about 20 km long) and the construction of the future Salaspils multimodal freight terminal.
Contracts have already been signed and construction works are successfully ongoing at the Rail Baltica Central Hub: construction of the Riga Central Railway Station and construction of the Riga Airport Railway Station.
The total length of the Rail Baltica railway line in Latvia is about 260 km starting at the Lithuanian-Latvian border and running through 10 municipal territories: Bauska, Ķekava, Olaine, Mārupe county, the capital city Riga to the direction of Estonia through Salaspils, Ropaži, Sigulda, Saulkrasti and Limbaži counties.
The new double-track EU gauge railway line Rail Baltica is is not limited to Rail Baltica high-speed and international freight only. It will also improve regional mobility by developing regional rail services in areas where there were no stations before. At the moment 16 regional stops are planned on the main line of Rail Baltica in Latvia in Salacgrīva, Tūja, Skulte, Vangaži, Saurieši, near Slavu bridge, Torņakalns, Zasulauks, Imanta, Jaunmārupe, Olaine, Ķekava, Salaspils, Baldone, Iecava and one new 1520 mm station in Riga, Āgenskalns near P. Stradiņš Hospital. The planning and design of the regional stations will be carried out by the end of 2023 and will be financed within the framework of the Rail Baltica project. In addition, possible locations for several regional stations are being considered for implementation in the future.
Rail Baltica project is financed by European Comission and Latvian state. Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas and RB Rail AS are national project implementers in Latvia.
About Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas:
Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas is the implementer of the Rail Baltica project in Latvia. Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas implements the Rail Baltica project in Latvia in accordance with the financing agreements concluded between CINEA (European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency), which is the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency, and RB Rail AS, a joint venture between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, being authorized by the Baltic States to sign financing agreements. RB Rail AS is also responsible for the implementation of joint activities.
Additional information:
Rita Voronkova,
Eiropas Dzelzceļa līnijas, Head of Communication
e-mail: rita.voronkova@edzl.lv