LTV programme De Facto reports that that the decision by the Latvian government to mobilise additional forces to complete the installation of the fence on the Latvian-Belarusian border is being implemented. The remaining portion and infrastructure objects are planned to be commissioned in mid-2024.
Speeding up construction of the fence will cost about three million euros. These steps were made in order to adapt to the growing risks of illegal immigration. The new fence will be installed along a total of 78 km. Some access roads already exist and some still have to be constructed. The construction company has promised winter will be no obstacle – it is planned to finish construction by the middle of summer of 2024.
De Facto lists the main problems. In the past two weeks the number of attempts to illegally cross the Latvian border have increased rapidly (up to 256 deterred persons a day). The fence does not run along the entire border. Organisers of hybrid threats also follow the construction of the fence. However, construction efforts are not very fast; the construction company is having difficulties finding sub-contractors. Latgale companies are unhappy with the Lithuanian firm that has not paid for services.
Last year a total of 5 286 attempts to illegally cross the border were prevented. This year there have been more than 8 000 already. To handle the situation,
Latvian authorities have called in the army, police and even border guards from neighbouring countries.
“Yes, without a doubt the other side is following the development of the situation on our side. Because facts indicate people are pushed into our territory the most often in areas where there is no fence,” the programme was told by deputy chief of State Border Guard’s Daugavpils Office Raimonds Kublickis.
De Facto reminds: attempts to establish a fence on the Latvian-Belarusian border have continued for more than six years. The process was accompanied by multiple scandals. Work was also halted after the critical report from the State Audit. The Internal Security also commenced criminal cases. Some of them have since been terminated with no results. In spring, when the active construction season restarted again, the project was abandoned by a Lithuanian sub-contractor that built fences for Latvia’s neighbours.
This summer Latvian Valsts nekustamie īpašumi searched for construction companies to serve as sub-contractors to last year’s hired Citrus Solutions. One of the objectives listed in the declaration of the new Latvian government promises to complete the fence’s construction on the border shared with Belarus by the end of the year.
The now former Minister of the Interior Māris Kučinskis told De Facto that nothing can interfere with the construction of the border fence now: “All obstacles have been removed. All mechanisms available to the state are engaged. This means there are no interference, aside from why we didn’t have it yesterday, why we need it today and not tomorrow.”
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