The Lithuanian investor will ask Riga to compensate for the loss of the land near the airport / Article

“Considering the fact that the decision to cancel the auction has been made, we hope that the process of refunding the money paid for the land will be started as soon as possible. We will also calculate in detail the resulting losses, because after the purchase of the land, we always paid land tax and interest to the banks that lent money for the purchase of land, etc. As soon as we receive an official notification about the cancellation of the auction, we will also demand compensation for the incurred losses,” Sirin Development CEO Laurins Kuzavs said in a statement to the media.

“We respect the decisions of the institutions and will abide by them. However, we regret to note that the disagreements of Latvian institutions undermine the image of both Riga and the entire country, becoming an obstacle to attracting foreign investments, creating new jobs and increasing budget revenues. Even more so, this is happening at the moment , when foreign investors are already very cautious and avoid investing in the Baltic states,” said Kuzavs in a comment to the media.

“The situation is really unpleasant, we devoted a lot of time, effort and financial resources to this project. The opportunity for a good project that would bring real benefits to the city and the airport, as well as to the company, has been lost. As you can see, this situation is also unpleasant for the municipality itself,” said Kuzavs .

CONTEXT:

Riga Municipality has received the Prosecutor General’s submission regarding the illegal privatization of undeveloped land in the territory necessary for the further development of the civil aviation airport of national importance.

According to the prosecutor’s office, during the privatization process in 2012, the municipality did not evaluate the need for land plots for the performance of state administration functions or state or municipal commercial activities, and all 22 land plots are located in the territory necessary for the further development of Riga Airport.

In 2010, the deputies of the Riga City Council instructed the municipal SIA “Rīgas pilsētbūvnieks” to implement the regional-scale exhibition and conference center creation project on these plots of land and invested the plots in the company’s share capital. Later, in 2012, the Riga City Council refused this project and decided to hand over the plots of land for privatization.

The land plots were sold at auction on April 14, 2022. They were purchased for 5.7 million euros by the company “Cella investment 3” SIA, which is related to the real estate developer “Sirin Development”. Both of these companies belong to the holding “ME Holding NT” registered in Lithuania.

The total area of ​​the plots is 389,394 square meters. They are located approximately 400 meters from the fenced area of ​​the airport.

In connection with these plots of land, the former acting director of the Department of Space and Mobility of the Riga City Council, Jānis Vaivodus, is suspected of offering a 50,000-euro bribe to Jānis Meirāns, the advisor of the Minister of Transport Kaspars Briškens (“Progressives”), Latvian Television program “De facto” previously reported.

In response to the Prosecutor General’s submission, the Riga City Council decided to declare the decision taken on September 21, 2022 regarding the completion of the privatization of 22 plots of land near the “Riga” airport as invalid.