Extensive geotechnical investigation of the Port of Riga territory commenced in Spilve meadows
To plan the further development of territories of the Freeport of Riga and improve offers for potential investors, the Freeport of Riga Authority commenced an extensive geotechnical investigation of free port territories in the meadows around Spilve. Acoording to the Freeport of Riga, it is planned that the perspective territory of the Spilve meadows might be developed as a place for logistics and industrial companies to operate. The development of port territories on the left bank of the Daugava River will be also included in the Freeport of Riga Development Plan for 2019–2028, a functional document which will outline the development of the Port of Riga from the point of cargo, functions and territories.
The geotechnical investigation will be carried out within a 66 hectare territory of the Freeport of Riga on the left bank of the Daugava River in the Spilve meadows. Ever since the Spilve meadows became a part of the territory of the Freeport of Riga, they have been available to private investors for the development of warehouse, logistics centre or manufacturing company projects. Likewise, entrepreneurs can also operate within the entire territory of the Freeport of Riga in the Spilve meadows in a free-zone mode, which is particularly favourable for investors due to tax discounts. Until now, the impediment in attracting investors was caused by the fact that no sufficient geotechnical investigation had been carried out for these territories. Hence, investors and project developers had no sufficient information and no possibility to plan the necessary amount of investments.
“During the project, the preliminary geotechnical investigation will be carried out in the territory of the Spilve meadows, as a result of which the Freeport of Riga Authority will obtain full information with recommendations regarding the suitability of the territory for various types of structures and project development. 3D modelling of the future vision of the territory will be carried out as well. These measures will provide us with the full information and will be a crucial precondition for further development of the territory”, Edgars Sūna, Deputy CEO of the Freeport of Riga Authority for port development matters, noted.
The Spilve meadows geotechnical investigation project is also crucial in context with the development of the port’s Development Programme for 2019–2028. “The new port’s Development Plan will focus on the development of the Port of Riga territories on the left bank of the Daugava River. Historically, the port’s operations were mostly concentrated on the right bank of the river. Currently, we observe faster development of the port on the left bank of the Daugava, where private merchants develop various projects relating to the port’s operations: new terminals, cargo warehouses and logistics companies. The left bank of the Daugava does not display this rapid development at the moment; however, along with the completion of the Krievu Island project, this historical situation will change. In the upcoming decade, we are planning to ensure faster development of port operations on the left bank of the river, including in the territories of the Spilve meadows, and the geotechnical investigation will be a logical start for the development of these territories”, Sūna highlighted.
As a result of the public procurement, the project “Preliminary Geotechnical Investigation and Modelling for the Development of the Territory in Spilve Meadows” will be implemented by Firma L4 SIA. Investigation and modelling works are planned to be completed by this October.
