The works of the 1st stage of the border crossing point “Terehova”, the busiest Latvian-Russian border crossing point (BCP), are coming to an end; SJSC “State Real Estate” (SRE) have announced a repeated procurement for the modernisation works of the 2nd stage of BCP. It will include an extension to the administrative building of the BCP - hand luggage inspection terminal - and the modernisation of engineering communications of the administrative building, informs Renārs Griškevičs, Chairman of the Board of SRE.
Currently, the final works of the 1st stage of development of BCP “Terehova” are actively continuing. In the course of this, an in-depth customs control building was put into operation at the beginning of 2021, which provides the opportunity to double the inspection capacity, while at the same time simultaneously ensuring the in-depth inspection of two freight vehicles and one passenger car. Six new control pavilions have been installed, control canopies have been rebuilt and expanded, above which electronic information signs will be placed, in order to effectively change the application of lanes during rush hours and increase vehicle flow. A server room has been built, new treatment plants have been installed to improve the environmental situation at the border, and new electrical installations have been built. Acceptance of work is currently being carried out by the internal construction supervisors of SRE, who, in accordance with internal guidelines and good practice in the industry, perform their work with particular care, strengthening the construction supervision competencies of SRE. SRE is a demanding customer and does not permit compromises on quality; therefore, the works will only be accepted after the completion of all works and elimination of the identified shortcomings, which is planned to be done by summer 2022.
Simultaneously, a procurement procedure has been commenced for the 2nd stage works. A hand luggage inspection terminal will be built as an extension to the administrative building. It is planned to start the works of the 2nd stage in the spring of this year with the development of the construction project and to complete the construction works by the end of 2023.
Raimonds Zukuls, State Revenue Service Deputy Director General in the Field of Customs, emphasises: “Both international trade and technology are evolving dynamically, and customs need to keep pace with these trends. In order to implement the border control of goods in accordance with modern technological solutions, ensuring fast and convenient border crossing for honest economic operators, it is vital to strengthen the capacity of services and create an infrastructure that supports and promotes the increase of control efficiency. The modernisation of the Latvian BCP and customs control equipment is ongoing.”
In the procurement for the modernisation of the 2nd stage of BCP “Terehova” announced in September 2021, SRE planned to rebuild the BCP administrative building and to build an extension for a hand luggage terminal. Two contractors applied for the procurement: the association of persons “Ramda Delta Falkors” and SIA “Lagron”. The bids significantly exceeded the amount of funding available in the project; therefore, the State Revenue Service in cooperation with the SRE and the State Border Guard decided to implement the project in a reduced amount, at the same time ensuring the implementation of the most important works required for the modernisation of the BCP. The extension of the administrative building will provide an opportunity for the staff of the border control services to perform their work in larger and more modern premises. The works that will not be implemented in the project will not have a significant impact on the modernisation of the BCP “Terehova”.
1st stage of the development modernisation project of BCP “Terehova” was started in 2019, and it is taking place in several stages without interrupting the operation of the control services. The 1st stage is implemented within the framework of the project “Improvement of the border crossing point Terehova-Burachki” and co-financed by the Latvian-Russian cross-border cooperation programme for 2014-2020. The continuation of the project (2nd stage) is financed from the European Economic Area Financial Instrument for the period from 2014-2021 “International Police Cooperation and Combatting Crime”, implementing the project “Preventing and combatting economic crime at the Border Crossing Point “Terehova””. Investment in the 1st stage of the project is 8.35 million euros (excluding VAT) and the investment in the second stage in Terehova is 1.84 million euros (excluding VAT).
SRE currently continues works on 54 different construction sites of national importance, with a total project budget of 223 million euros. SRE provides professional real estate management and administration for approximately 400 real estate properties with 1100 buildings and 1.02 million square metres of space, and more than 3600 land properties of 9.6 million square metres. The company was founded in 1996 and is 100% owned by the Ministry of Finance.
