EU – Baltic States, Investments, Latvia, Transport

The goal of the project is to encourage the development of public transportation as an alternative to private cars, the Transport Ministry informed the business portal Nozare.lv. It is planned that the project will be implemented in cities with a population of over 80,000, which means that Liepaja and Daugavpils would qualify for the funds, writes LETA.

State and municipal companies that provide public transport services may apply for the funds, their own financing must be no less than 15% of the cost of a given project.

The projects are to be implemented by August 31, 2015, by which time all work within the given projects must be completed and all due payments must be made. It is planned that applications for the funds will be invited in the fourth quarter this year, and the practical implementation of the projects will begin next year.

Since this is a completely new activity, the government regulations introduce strict rules on project implementation, criteria for evaluation of the applications, and assigns the Transport Ministry to be in charge of the project.

As the mass media reported previously, the tram system in Daugavpils will be modernized with this money, new rolling stock and other equipment will be bought for the city, a number of tram lines and tram stops will be renovated.

In Liepaja, the current tram line will be extended to Ezerkrasts District, which is the third largest residential area in the city, and the tracks will be renovated.