Vilnius hoped a change of government in Latvia would help unblock the Rail Baltica railway project that has been plagued by delays, Lithuanian Transport Minister Juras Taminskas said on Monday.
"The Estonians are executing the project, and like us, they are keeping to the deadlines. We face more challenges with the Latvians, but I believe that with the change of government, and if this prime minister remains prime minister in Latvia, which seems likely, the project should move past the deadlock there," Taminskas told reporters in Vilnius on Monday.
Following an agreement among the Baltic states to extend the deadline for completing the first phase of Rail Baltica to 2034, Taminskas reiterated that Lithuania remained committed to its plan to finish the project by 2030.
"There is not much flawed work on the Lithuanian side. There are certain alleged violations in construction committed by contractors. Legal remedies are being addressed by LTG Infra, and whatever was improperly built will have to be fixed or rebuilt," Taminskas said.
The minister said rising project costs were not unexpected, as delays had turned it into a decade-long undertaking.
Two weeks ago, the leaders of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland urged the European Union to ensure adequate funding.
In Lithuania, 114 kilometres of the main line are under construction. Across the three Baltic states, nearly half of the railway line is either under construction or ready for construction. Poland recently approved the construction of an almost 95-kilometre section between Bialystok and Elk.
The first phase, which will connect the Baltic states to Europe with a single track, is estimated to cost 15.3 billion euros across the three countries. Installing a second track could raise the total project cost to 23.8 billion euros.
Rail Baltica will connect Tallinn, Parnu, Riga, Panevėžys, Kaunas, Vilnius and Warsaw.
The railway line in Lithuania will stretch 392 kilometres.
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