Gavrilova points out that in several places in the swampy areas, eight kilometers of floating fence supports or pontoons have been installed.
On the other hand, the remaining 28 kilometers of the fence in difficult, hard-to-access areas and 15 kilometers of pontoons for more efficient use of state funds will be built according to the deadline approved by the government – until the end of October next year.
In order to minimize risks and achieve the fastest possible construction terms, the construction works were divided into 18 work parts and they took place in parallel since April of this year. VNĪ has signed 16 contracts with six construction contractors – SIA “Citrus Solutions”, SIA “Hagberg Construction”, SIA “Nordes būve”, general partnership “P and P Būvniecības grupa”, SIA “Baltic Construction Company (BCC)” and VAS “Latvijas” road maintainer”.
In cooperation with the National Armed Forces, VNĪ completed the construction of a 20-kilometer fence in September this year, which was a unique model of cooperation, where VNĪ performed the functions of general contractor, organized the procurement of all materials and resources, and managed the construction process.
The Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis (JV) states that the commitment included in the government’s declaration to complete the construction of the fence both on the border of Belarus and Russia by the end of this year has been fulfilled, as the work has been carried out professionally, within the set deadlines and in accordance with the high priority of construction works in both Latvia and the European Union (EU) for strengthening the eastern border.
He points out that there are two authoritarian regimes next to Latvia, which are launching constant, hostile hybrid attacks against Latvia and the EU. “Together with a modern physical border fence, we have laid solid foundations for our collective security. The next step, which we are already working on, is equipping the eastern border with smart infrastructure, and a significant contribution here is the additional 17 million euros allocated by the European Commission (EU) at the end of the year, which will both make Latvia’s external border with Russia safer and help the State Border Guard to work more efficiently,” emphasizes Kozlovskis.
The construction works of the missing border fence between Latvia and Russia have been under the supervision of VNĪ since April of this year. Previously, SIA “Ceļu būvnečias sabiedrības “Igate”” built 99 kilometers of fence on the Latvian-Russian border, until the works were stopped in 2019. In accordance with the agreement reached by the Public Transport Authority with the “Road construction company “Igate”, in this section of 99 kilometers long, since November, the construction contractor has been carrying out the elimination of the deficiencies found in the previously built border fence and infrastructure (four suspension cable bridges, patrol paths). The mentioned works are carried out by the “Road construction company “Igate”” without additional funding These works will also be completed by the end of October next year.
In the summer of 2023, VNĪ received the task of managing, implementing and monitoring the construction of the fence and infrastructure of the EU’s external eastern border with a length of 283.6 kilometers with Russia, where VNĪ makes the necessary purchases, concludes procurement contracts and controls the work done. Also, in the fall of 2021, it was determined that the VNĪ directs, implements and monitors the infrastructure construction of the external borders with Belarus, where the construction of the fence was completed in July this year and the construction of the infrastructure will be completed within the next week.
Several organizations are involved in strengthening the eastern border. The responsibility of the VNĪ is to manage and organize the construction process, including finding builders in the tender, the State Security Agency is responsible for the expropriation of the necessary land plots, the actual deforestation is carried out by VAS “Latvijas valsts meži”, while the Latvian State Radio and Television Center is responsible for implementing technological solutions, as there is also cooperation with the users of the border and infrastructure – the State Border Guard and the Ministry of the Interior.
The implementation of the Eastern border construction project is supervised by the External Border Infrastructure Construction Monitoring Committee, which consists of representatives from the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, the State Border Guard, the State Security Agency, VAS “Latvijas Valsts radio and television centrs”, VNĪ, JSC “Latvijas valsts meži”, Geospatial Information of Latvia agencies and the National Armed Forces.
VNĪ was founded in 1996, its 100% owner is the Latvian state, the holder of the state’s capital shares is the Ministry of Finance.