Rail Baltica project signs over €353 million grant agreement with CINEA

RB Rail AS, the Rail Baltica joint venture of the Baltic States, announced the signing of an additional cross-border grant agreement on the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funding for the Rail Baltica global project. The total budget under this agreement is €422.7 million, out of which the CEF contribution will be €353.9 million or maximum 85 per cent, whereas the remaining financial contribution will be provided by the governments of the three Baltic States.

Signing the agreement

The agreement was signed between the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia, the Ministry of Transport of Latvia and the Ministry of Transport and Communications of Lithuania and Rail Baltica joint venture RB Rail AS.

“We live in times of increased economic uncertainty resulting from geopolitical crisis, continuous price fluctuations and volatile construction material availability, and it is more important than ever to ensure tight cross-border cooperation between the partners in the three Baltic countries to deliver the Rail Baltica and maintain its position amongst the top priority high-speed infrastructure projects in the European Union,” Agnis Driksna, CEO and Chairperson of the Management Board at RB Rail AS, said. “Rail Baltica is no longer a necessity, it is an obligation, and the additional financing granted will allow us to meet the critical targets and further advance with Rail Baltica construction and delivery as a united Baltic project.”

The approved activities reflect the priority tasks to be started already next year, including:

• Remaining Rail Baltica mainline designs in Lithuania, including for the mainline section “Poland/Lithuania border to Kaunas urban node”, Kaunas urban node, design of mainline and regional connections on section between Kaunas urban node and Vilnius urban node, and design of Vilnius urban node. Supported funding also covers part of land expropriation compensations.
• Start of construction works on Rail Baltica mainline on the priority section in Latvia near the Latvia/Lithuania border and development of detailed technical design for the construction base in Skulte infrastructure maintenance facility that is located on the North section in Latvia towards the Latvia/Estonia border.
• Construction of substructure and associated elements on the Rail Baltica mainline in Estonia, including Ülemiste operational point and design works for capercaillie mitigation measures on section from Pärnu to the Estonia/Latvia border.
• Activities aimed to ensure cross-border dimension and technical interoperability, including Notified Body (NoBo) and Assessment Body (AsBo) assessment services for Design and Construction works, design author supervision of detailed technical design implementation during construction, supervision of construction works by Resident Engineer (FIDIC), as well as analysing the relevant models for the cross-border section construction procurement. Also, an activity dedicated to climate proofing methodology development and screening proofing document, including verification process, is recommended for financing.

Additionally, the confirmed activities will ensure further continuation of the Rail Baltica coordination by RB Rail AS as a cross-border global project both in terms of technical solutions that allow interoperability, delivery approaches and quality, including ensuring that necessary sustainability and climate-neutral transport infrastructure and consistent with European Green Deal goals are met.

Financing the agreement

“This is a Grant Agreement shows the continued, strong EU support to the Rail Baltica global project,” Morten Jensen, Head of Unit at CINEA, said. “This is the eight CEF Action supporting the implementation of Rail Baltica and the first grant awarded to this important project in the 2021-2027 financing period. I wish the beneficiaries and the coordinator a smooth implementation and timely completion of the activities in this grant agreement.”

The considerable amount of this financing recommended for the Rail Baltica global project will be added to the already available financing from the 2014-2021 financial period where more than €1.2 billion is available for Rail Baltica implementation, out of which 85 per cent comes from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). The CEF Transport programme implements the European Union’s transport infrastructure policy by supporting investments in building or upgrading transport infrastructure across Europe.