The money for the construction of a new Daugava bridge in Jēkabpils is expected to come from the Military Mobility Fund

In the Finance Committee of Jēkabpils County Council, the deputy Leonīds Salcevičs proposed to apply to the government to apply for a second bridge in Jēkabpils for the financing of military mobility. At one time, the second bridge was spoken at the ministerial level as an important object from the point of view of security, so that, if necessary, the movement of military equipment could be ensured. BD asked the city council if the municipality would apply for this money for the second bridge and what has already been done to achieve this?

– The bridge has been mentioned in all negotiations with both the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Defense as a priority. It is currently possible to apply for Military Mobility. I had a conversation with the leadership of the Saeima State Security Committee about it, where I reminded about the bridge. The Ministry of Transport was asked to submit a request for support from the newly established Military Mobility Fund of the European Union for the Jēkabpils Second Bridge project, but the Ministry has not made a request for this project. There will be another meeting with the representatives of the Ministry of Defense to talk about the issue of the second Daugava bridge in Jēkabpils, because the Ministry of Transport simply puts it aside and says that the bridge is also demanded by Līvāni. Something absurd. The bridge project is almost ready, but coordination and expertise are still needed. We insist that this bridge is vital for the whole country. There was just a case when a tractor dropped a tire on the Daugava bridge and all traffic in the city was blocked. What kind of military mobility can we talk about then? A letter has been sent to both the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Defense and to the Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš that the construction of the second bridge in Jēkabpils is necessary for the defense system of Latvia as a whole and the country as a whole. I will meet with representatives of the Ministry of Defense to discuss this issue, and we hope that the Ministry of Defense will be able to raise this issue and that we will be able to apply for this support. Compared to Lithuania and Estonia, we have not applied for anything at the moment, – said Raivis Ragainis, the chairman of the county council.

BD wondered whether the Military Mobility Money could not be requested for the development of Jēkabpils Regional Hospital as well, as research was once presented where Jēkabpils Regional Hospital was mentioned as important from a military point of view?

R. Ragainis said that such a possibility exists and is being thought about. There is an idea about an extension, but now nothing can be said about it in detail, because it is not the case that the project would be ready now and a tender could be announced. But if that were possible, a new building could be built, demolishing the old infection room.

The Baltic States have applied for support from the European Union Military Mobility Fund in the following amounts: Latvia is applying for five million euros, Estonia for 31 million euros and Lithuania for 73 million euros. The de facto LTV program informs that one billion euros will be available in the fund for the entire seven-year programming period, divided into three tranches. The first application was announced last year and recently closed. The aid intensity is 50% of the total project amount. The application was announced before the war in Ukraine. The European Commission’s previous analysis of the suitability of the existing transport network for military purposes in eight countries of the North Sea and Baltic Corridor (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands) revealed that in several countries bridges and overpasses were too low or load-bearing. sufficient for military equipment. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for the preparation and submission of applications. It stated that this time other projects were not ready to apply for funding. However, the ministry hopes to start the second round with much more powerful applications.

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