On 16 November, in Riga, a festive ceremony took place on Krievu Island – a general partnership BMGS S¸ which includes companies such as Skonto Būve Ltd., and JSC BMGS, delivered the new infrastructure object of Krievu Island port to the Freeport of Riga. Hence, construction of the largest project in the history of the port, also significant on a national level, “Development of Infrastructure on Krievu Island for the Transfer of Port Activities from the City Centre” is officially complete.

“Skonto Būve has a historic opportunity to participate in the construction of Riga City and the Freeport of Riga. Completion of the Krievu Island project and the development of the surrounding area means a significant increase in the international competitiveness of the Freeport of Riga. This, therefore, allows new ways for development and cooperation to be pursued by both the Freeport and Latvian and foreign companies. The Krievu Island project concerns not only the Freeport of Riga. I am truly proud that Skonto Būve has participated, currently participates and will continue to actively participate in the economic development of Riga and Latvia. The gloomy and bleak port territory on the right bank of the Daugava will now gradually disappear, opening a wide area to create a new recreational, cultural and entertainment space for the citizens of Riga. I can note that the Freeport of Riga and the construction workers had a clear goal, which contributed to good, cohesive work and the successful completion of the project,” tells Guntis Rāvis, the Chairman of the Board of Skonto Būve Ltd.

133.65 million euros were invested into the implementation of the project. Of these, the EU Cohesion Fund’s input amounts to 77.19 million euros, while the Freeport of Riga has provided 56.46 million euros (a loan from Nordea Bank and Pohjola Bank).

The project “Development of Infrastructure on Krievu Island for the Transfer of Port Activities from the City Centre” was launched in 2006. During those nine years an environmental impact assessment was performed and the technical design was elaborated, EU funding was attracted, as well as practical construction work was completed.

Krievu Island now boasts deep-water berths and necessary infrastructure that complies with the best global port practices, which allows further terminal development. For it to happen, 4 dry bulk cargo handling berths with a total length of 1,180 metres and a depth at the berths of 15.5 m were built on Krievu Island by the general partnership BMGS S. Also, all the necessary road and rail access tracks and engineering communications to the port area were built.

The total capacity of the Krievu Island project is 20 million tonnes of bulk cargo per year. During the construction process 24,000 tonnes of pipes and 3,100 tonnes of sheet piles were immersed 10-28 metres deep; a 1489 metre long berth wall was constructed, which has a set of 51 mooring platforms and 123 sets of rejecting units; deepening of the river bed was carried out – 2.7 million cubic metres of gravel was drained out, allowing vessels with a draft of up to 15 meters to be hosted, but potentially – up to 17 metres.

Approximately 20,000 cubic metres of concrete and 2,500 tonnes of fixtures have been used in the construction; 6176 paving slabs and 463 core slabs were prepared and delivered to the object. In addition, flooding of the territory in the amount of 300,000 cubic metres was carried out, and 600 metres of the banks of Hapaka ditch were reinforced.

Photo: E.Matvejeva, V.Koziols