On 20 February, the Cabinet of Ministers (CoM) took note of the information report of the Ministry of the Interior “On the continuation of the construction of permanent infrastructure on the external land border of the State and the financing needed for this purpose”, and issued an order on the reallocation of budget funds from the programme “Financing of measures to strengthen State security” for the implementation of the construction works included in the report.
In order to ensure the construction of the infrastructure necessary for the protection of the external land border along the Latvian - Russian border, SJSC “State Real Estate” (SRE) was authorized to incur financial liabilities in the amount of 66 884 169,37 euros including VAT for the construction of a fence on the last priority section of the Latvian - Russian border with a total approximate length of 66,71 km, where it had not been constructed before.
Of this funding, 63 310 547.22 euros are earmarked for construction work, 1 286 400,00 euros for construction supervision, 492 604,61 euros for author’s supervision (control of construction in accordance with the construction plan) and 1 794 617,54 euros for drawing up the construction plan documentation.
In order to ensure that the costs included in the information report are covered, the CoM also ordered a reallocation of 50 102 337 euros in 2024, with support for a reallocation of 17 255 743 euros in 2025.
For the construction of the infrastructure in this phase, at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, the SRE organized the procurement “Development and construction of documentation necessary for the implementation of the plan for the construction of a fence on the border between the Republic of Latvia and the Russian Federation”. This round includes the most complex stages of infrastructure construction, therefore the planned scope of construction is divided into six parts.
The construction works are planned to be entrusted to five construction contractors, with coordination and supervision by the SRE, ensuring the construction of additional infrastructure by the end of this year, except for a section of approximately 28,35 km, which is more technically complex, to be completed by 25 October 2025.
An innovative pontoon solution with fencing is foreseen in marshes, weak bearing soils and wet areas where the bearing capacity of the soil does not ensure the stability of the fence and does not allow the future construction of a mineral patrol duct structure without soil replacement or reinforcement. This solution is not only significantly more durable, with a life expectancy of more than 50 years, but also has a predictable construction timeframe, without the need to deal with the depth of the marshes, which varies considerably, and without the risk of long-term changes in the verticality of the fence. In addition, the concrete pontoon serves as a patrol tower, which will ensure the long-term usability of the patrol tower in any changing water level conditions, as well as ensuring the intended geometry regardless of the ground conditions.
The Latvian – Russian border is 283,6 kilometres long. At present, the priority of the SRE is the completion of the already built infrastructure and the construction of a fence in the sections where there is none. It is planned that the fence could be completed by the end of 2024, while the remaining infrastructure is planned to be completed by 2025. Currently, around 180 kilometres of fencing and at least 53 kilometres of border protection infrastructure need to be built on the Latvian - Russian border. A significant part of the border strip along the Russian border has already been deforested, which will allow the fence to be built more quickly.
To date, the infrastructure of the border strip has been built for about 230 km, including patrol trails (wooden footbridges or chips, natural dirt road and culverts) and four cable-stayed bridges. A fence has been built along a length of approximately 99 km.
The implementation of the Eastern Border Construction Project is supervised by the Outer Border Infrastructure Construction Supervisory Committee, which includes representatives from the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economics, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, State Border Guard, State Security Agency, SJSC “Latvia State Radio and Television Centre”, SJSC “State Real Estate”, JSC “Latvia’s State Forests”, Latvian Geospatial Information Agency and the National Armed Forces.
Prepared by:
Ministry of the Interior
Communication Department