The joint venture for the development of the Rail Baltic high-speed rail link should be established as soon as possible, Estonia's Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts said.
Estonian econmin: Rail Baltic joint venture should be set up as soon as possible
16th February 2013, 09:27
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The project needs a joint venture behind it, it is necessary to reach a common vision on it and get it started, Parts said.
"A preliminary study has been tabled by consultants. We are at present examining it and forming Estonia's positions," the minister said in an interview with BNS. "I hope to discuss this study in the government in coming weeks."
Establishment of the Rail Baltic joint venture will also be in the focus of the meeting of the Baltic states' transport ministers scheduled for March, Parts said.
The repeat tender for drawing up the Rail Baltic pre-development project which the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications hopes will attract more favorable offers is in progress. An analogous procurement is underway in Latvia. "We hope Lithuania will catch up soon," Parts added.
The ministry hopes the pre-development project together with plans and environmental impact assessment will be finished by the end of 2015 as stipulated in the tender conditions. "Hopefully this is doable," Parts said. "The whole project is such that time frame changes are always possible, but they should not be overdramatized.
"Much depends on the final rules of the game for the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) which will be put in place with various regulations now that the general European framework has been agreed. It's bound to become clearer very soon when the Rail Baltic project will have to be submitted to the CEF, which causes time pressure," the minister said.