Millions of lats wasted in building the Southern Bridge

2009-03-19
By TBT staff

The Dienvidu Bridge has lessened congestion of inner city traffic, with a hefty price tag.

RIGA-Riga city mayor Janis Birks has announced his shock at the 27 million that was "squandered in the building of the Dienvidu (Southern) Bridge."

"Decisions regarding the Dienvidu Bridge at the Riga City Council were passed with a strong majority of votes, therefore, if the State Audit Office proves to be right, I will consider that the council members were deliberately deceived," Birks has said.

The amount in question, 27 million lats, has caught the attention of Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis who plans to assign Regional Development and Local Affairs minister Edgars Zalans to determine what should be done about the matter.

"The announcement that LVL 27 million have been squandered in construction of the Dienvidu Bridge, did not actually surprise me, as already previously there were comments that it seemed to be among the most costly bridges in the world," Dombrovskis said in an interview on LNT television.

Auditor General Inguna Sudraba said that out of the 570 million lats, for financing the first two stages of the bridge construction, 264 million lats were spent on attracting financing.

The bridge was unveiled to the public on November 17, 2008.