The competition determined how the new port terminal “Riga RoPax Terminal” will look like

SIA “Riga Ropax Terminal” on Tuesday recognized the British architectural office “Zaha Hadid Architects”, founded by the world-famous architect Zaha Hadid, as the winner at the awarding ceremony of the new passenger and ro-ro cargo terminal design competition.

“Zaha Hadid Architects” received the highest jury rating in the design competition, thus winning the first place.

The second place in the competition was won by the Estonian company “R-Konsult”, while the US architect office “Berenblum Busch Architects” took the third place.

“Riga RoPax Terminal” project manager Jūlija Bērziņa stated at the event that ten tender applications were received from almost 60 applicants who took out the tender documentation within the specified deadline, which the jury evaluated from various aspects, including the organization of transport flow and passenger movement, the originality of the architectural idea and from the point of view of visual enjoyment.

She commented that “Zaha Hadid Architects” focused on ensuring that the passenger terminal building was different from what we see in the region, but at the same time functional, and in the jury’s opinion, the British office was a leader in all positions, designing a detailed and visually appealing offer.

The manager of the Freeport of Riga, Ansis Zeltiņš, said that the passenger terminal is one of the strategic buildings that is currently missing not only for the port of Riga, but also for the city. Thus, the parties involved in the project are actively moving in the direction of having a promising new sea passenger service place in Riga.

A new passenger terminal would mark Riga on the map of European cruise ports, as well as provide modern and environmentally friendly ferry passenger service in Riga and create new opportunities for the development of the ro-ro cargo segment. The new terminal will be located in the southern part of Eksportosta, which will reduce traffic intensity in the center of Riga, reducing noise and air pollution. The master plan of the southern part of the export port also includes the development of the territory adjacent to the terminal, including improvements in public transport connectivity and improvement of the surroundings.

The jury included representatives of Riga City Council, Riga Freeport Authority, National Cultural Heritage Authority, as well as Latvian Architects’ Union and “Riga Ropax Terminal”.

The proposed variants of the project’s development vision can be viewed in person until May 12 at the Riga Technical University Institute of Architecture and Design on the fourth floor, Ķipsalas Street 6, on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

It is planned that, if the project is successfully implemented, the new terminal will be available to passengers in 2028.

Up to 150 cruise ships and 540 ships in the passenger and cargo segment could be expected in Riga with a new passenger terminal. In total, the new terminal could accommodate around 800,000 passengers in its first year of operation.

It has already been reported that a new passenger and ro-ro cargo terminal is planned in the southern part of Riga Export Port, in the development of which “Riga RoPax Terminal” related to the families of Ainārs Šleser (LPV) and Andras Šķēle plans to invest approximately 100 million euros.

A memorandum of intent has been signed between the Riga Freeport Authority and the project developer “Riga RoPax Terminal” with the aim of creating a new passenger and cruise ship, as well as ro-ro cargo service terminal. In 2018, the development of the local plan for the territory of the “Riga RoPax Terminal” project was started.

It is also reported that last year “Riga RoPax Terminal” in cooperation with the Riga Freeport Authority submitted an application to the “Interreg” Baltic Sea region transnational cooperation program with the aim of receiving funding for research on reducing the ecological footprint in passenger and ro-ro terminals in the city center.

“Firmas.lv” information shows that “Riga RoPax Terminal” worked with a turnover of 163,771 euros in 2023 and suffered a loss of 439,971 euros. The company was registered in 2021, and its share capital is 3.937 million euros. The owner of the company is SIA “NĪ Holdings”.