The State Security Service explains why the sawing of Mars Park has started immediately after the Riga City Council elections

One of the government parties – the New Conservative Party (JKP) – loudly opposed the construction of the VDD building on the site of the former bicycle track “Mars” between Brīvības and Ropažu streets. Neighborhood activists also opposed the sawing of trees, several of whom ran in the Riga City Council elections from various lists.

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It is logical that felling trees would provoke resistance, so the question is justified – whether the VDD with sawing specifically waited for one of the parties not to help the election or at least not to disturb others.

For example, JKP this spring tried unsuccessfully to suspend the special service building project in the Saeima. For the young conservatives, it was not only an opportunity to defend the trees, but also an opportunity to widely criticize the SLS, which had previously asked to accuse party leader Yuri Jurash of disclosing a state secret.

If the trees were cut before the City Council elections, the JKP could use them to its advantage in the campaign. At the same time, the felling of trees during the pre-election period could be turned against the “New Unity”, the representative of the Ministry of Finance Jānis Reirs, the implementer of the project “State Real Estate” (VNI). KPV LV’s rating could also suffer, as it is the party’s minister, Sandis Ģirģens, who oversees the security service.

Both Girgen and Reirs ‘de facto’ denied that they had been informed of the time of sawing the trees. The institutions involved, in turn, distance themselves from the elections.

“We have coordinated any work with the user [VDD], given that all the necessary permits have been obtained to complete the project on time. The fact that the bird nesting season is over has also been taken into account, ”says Renārs Griškevičs, Chairman of the Board of VNĪ.

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Due to the secrecy of the project, he is not entitled to disclose when the last approval was received to start site preparation, but notes that “this summer was a period of all necessary approvals.”

It should be noted, however, that the bird nesting season was hardly the main reason why the work did not start sooner, because the nesting season in Riga ended two months earlier – at the end of June.

The Security Service also does not mention more precise dates when the last approvals for the commencement of work were received. But he claims that the presumption of delay due to the election is unfounded.

Ēriks Cinkus, Deputy Head of the SLS, explains that the time of sawing trees was also determined by the opportunities of the involved companies: “Several companies are involved in the construction process. We have no legal right to thwart this decision. By arguing that we have to wait for a better time to start sawing trees, we are creating downtime that costs the state extra money. We work according to a pre-set schedule. ”

According to the Deputy Head of the SLS, the start of sawing was “a completely adequate period” and “there is no policy in this decision”.

The decision to build the building on the site of the former bicycle track in 2017 was secretly made by the government of Māra Kučinska (ZZS), and only at the beginning of this year, several months after receiving the felling permit, the public was informed who the building is intended for. At that time, many Rigans were already actively fighting for the preservation of trees. In the spring of this year, the National Security Commission of the Saeima, headed by Kuchinsky, after examining the objections of the residents, recommended to continue the project, and the majority of deputies supported it.

When asked whether he knew when to cut trees, Kučinskis does not answer directly, but reminds that the Saeima commission completed its work in the spring and “this is the end of our functions”.

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Due to secrecy, it is still not known what the building will look like. It is not revealed who will bring it. Currently, only a few construction companies have the necessary permits to build such secret facilities, as many heavyweights in the industry have lost the relevant safety certificates in recent years. The full list of survivors is not known, but permits were not revoked, such as Re & Re and UPB, the latter most likely selected as the builder of the VDD building, according to unofficial information.

“De facto” also found that the contracted builder had initially charged more for the work than the government funding. The VDD explains that it was difficult for the builders to make calculations due to the specifics of the object. In the end, however, the amount has not changed. What it is is not revealed.

“It was a long, complicated negotiation process, and in fact, signing the contract took all this summer,” says Zincus.

Owl: Political parties had not promised to stop the construction of “Mars Park”

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Proponents of “Mars Park” raise an alarm – saw the sound of saws behind the fence

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The SLS promises that the builder and the visualization of the new building will be publicly disclosed at the same time as the installation of the construction board on the construction site of the new building.