The Office of Prosecutor General may complete its inquiry of the actions of the people responsible for the implementation of Rail Baltica in Latvia by the end of the year.
The inquiry concerns uncoordinated commitments to the state budget by officials responsible for the project in concluding contracts for the construction of Riga railway bridge, embankment and the Central Passenger Station complex, as well as for the implementation of the Rail Baltica station and related infrastructure at Riga International Airport, said Prosecutor General Juris Stukāns.
The inquiry commenced in June. Stukāns said the Office of the Prosecutor General also pays attention to the information the parliamentary investigative committee into Rail Baltica project is getting through its own efforts.
“The inquiry has not gone anywhere. I believe we should reach some clarity as to whether or not there is a violation by the end of the year,” said the Prosecutor General.
In June 2024, following the request from opposition parties Combined List, National Alliance, Latvia in First Plance, as well as 34 non-faction Saeima deputies, the parliament agreed to compose a special committee to look into the mistakes uncovered in the implementation of Rail Baltica project.
LETA previously reported that there is still no clarity as to the management and use of Rail Baltica railway track. This was the conclusion reached in the report from Baltic supreme audit institutions.
According to the latest analysis of the costs and benefits of Rail Baltica, the total cost of the railway line in the Baltic States may reach EUR 23.8 billion, including the costs of the first stage of the project in the Baltic States could amount to EUR 15.3 billion, including EUR 6.4 billion in Latvia. In the previous cost-benefit analysis in 2017, it was estimated that the project will cost a total of EUR 5.8 billion.
Construction of the main line of Rail Baltica is planned to commence in 2024.