Latvian PM: Latvia ready to sign Rail Baltic agreement
Latvia is ready to sign the international agreement on the implementation of the Rail Baltic European-gauge railroad project.
Andrejs Vaivars, spokesman for Prime Minister Māris Kučinskis, confirmed to BNS that politically, Latvia is ready to sign the agreement at the Baltic prime ministers' meeting in Tallinn on Jan. 31 after the government approves it on Jan. 24.
Representatives of the Ministry of Transport also told BNS that Latvia is ready to ink the agreement, which will be put before the government for approval next week.
It was previously reported that the three Baltic prime ministers were scheduled to sign the agreement regarding the timeframe, route and other technical parameters of the Rail Baltic project in Tallinn on Jan. 31. Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis said on Monday, however, that he was unsure if he would sign the document as his government had not had enough time to study it in detail.
Baiba Rubesa, chairman of the management board at Baltic joint venture RB Rail, said in November that Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia should reach an agreement within six months, which would make it easier to prove to the European Commission that the project was making headway. This, in turn, would help secure funding for the project after 2020.
Construction of the Rail Baltic project and its related infrastructure is projected to cost approximately €4.8 billion, of which Estonia is to pay €1.3 billion.
Editor: Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS