Postpones the appointment of the temporary board of EDzL

The extraordinary meeting of the members of SIA “Eiropas dzelčeska lijnas” (EDzL), which is responsible for the construction of the “Rail Baltica” railway project on the territory of Latvia, where it is planned to appoint the company’s temporary board, has been postponed to Friday, May 3, the LETA agency found out in the Ministry of Transport (SM).

The ministry states that the extraordinary meeting of EDzL members was scheduled for Thursday, but the meeting was postponed in connection with the documentation preparation process.

It has already been reported that on April 26 of this year, the SM received the resignations of the former chairman of the board of EDzL, Kaspars Vingras, and member of the board, Arnias Staltmanis.

The MoU accepted the resignation of the chairman of the board of EDzL from April 27 of this year. On the other hand, the board member continues to fulfill his duties to ensure the continuity of EDzL’s activities.

In accordance with the Law on the Management of Capital Shares and Capital Companies of Public Persons, the chairman of the board of EDzL will be appointed at the meeting of EDzL members for the time until the representative of the holder of capital shares elects a new chairman of the board. The competition for the new manager will be organized in the application procedure of public candidates in accordance with the regulations.

Vingris has worked in the implementation of the “Rail Baltica” project since 2014, when he started working in the Ministry of Railways Department and was the manager of the “Rail Baltica” national research project. In 2016, he continued his work as the director of the Project Implementation Department of EDzL, but in 2019 he was approved as the chairman of the company’s board.

LETA already announced that the “Rail Baltica” project, in which problems with meeting deadlines and obtaining funding have recently come to light, envisages the creation of a European standard gauge railway line from Tallinn to the border of Lithuania and Poland, so that it will be possible to connect the Baltic states with other countries by rail. European countries. In the Baltic States, it is planned to build a new 870-kilometer long European railway line with a gauge of 1,435 millimeters with a maximum train speed of 240 kilometers per hour.

Initially, it was expected that the costs of “Rail Baltica” would reach 5.8 billion euros, but the parties involved have repeatedly stated that they have significantly increased. Part of the costs will be covered by the European Union funds. The railway line “Rail Baltica” is planned to be opened sequentially in stages between 2028 and 2030.

In last year’s activity report, the State Security Service (VDD) emphasized that, despite the existing complications, further delays in the construction of the “Rail Baltica” infrastructure are unacceptable and that the project requires targeted risk management.