Eastern border construction ahead of schedule

The Government was informed today of the extensive report which reflects progress in developing the infrastructure required to protect the country’s external land borders as of June 1 this year. cabinet We also learned about the current status of infrastructure construction on foreign land borders.

Considering the current situation on August 12 this year, the construction of the border fence Latvian – Belarus The border is fully completed, but by the end of 2024, construction works will continue along the first and second phases of the route to build the necessary infrastructure, including patrol roads, pedestrian bridges and other solutions needed to protect the border. The total length of the border is 173 kilometers.

At present, the construction of 42.4 kilometers of vehicle patrol roads, 16.4 kilometers of pedestrian bridge patrol roads, and 1.75 kilometers of floating bridge patrol roads has been ensured.

In addition, six metal communication towers, access roads and a 16.7-kilometer patrol trail continue to be built on the section of the Daugava River near the Latvian-Belarusian border. Currently, the construction of five communication towers and access roads has started and is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. The completed towers and access roads will ensure monitoring of the country’s external land borders in the Daugava region.

During the last round of construction works on the Latvian-Belarusian border, it was planned to build a bypass road near Lake Riču. A survey was conducted and the coordinates of the locations of potential bypass roads were determined in order to select the best solution for construction.

The Rokade road near Lake Riču will allow border guards to move quickly along the shore of the water body and thus effectively respond to possible violations – unauthorized entry of people or goods into Latvia. The section without border fence – a 16.7-kilometer section along the Daugava River as well as the construction of bypass roads and infrastructure near Lake Riču – is scheduled to be completed by summer 2025.

According to the current situation, the construction of external land border infrastructure on the Latvian-Russian border is also currently underway, with the construction of a border security fence with a total length of 180 kilometers. Since April 2024, the construction of the border fence has also been assisted by soldiers of the National Armed Forces and the National Guard, and at these stages the functions of the general contractor are performed by the State Joint Stock Company.State-owned real estate”, organizing the procurement of all materials and resources and managing the construction works.

The construction of the border fence between Latvia and Russia is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2024.

As previously reported, VAS “Latvian Radio and Television Center of Varst” has been authorized to organize the construction of smart infrastructure on the external land borders. The implementation of the necessary preparatory work has been ensured, and in the near future several rounds of design work will be started to ensure the construction of smart infrastructure on the Latvian-Belarusian and Latvian-Russian external land borders, and the construction works are also planned to start later.

Smart infrastructure is an innovative and complex solution consisting of an electronic communications network, an external power supply engineering network, presence detection systems and surveillance equipment and related infrastructure that will significantly improve the response and prevention capabilities of border protection agencies.

The total cost of the Latvian-Belarusian border fence and infrastructure construction and related services and works is 125.35 million euros, including 3.6 million euros in EU funding for the construction of communication towers and access roads.