Based on its information, Lietuvos Gelezinkeliai (Lithuanian Railways, LG), the country's state-owned railway company, is proposing signing the contract for the construction of the 1.5-km bridge, valued at 62.5 million euros, over the River Neris near Jonava with Spain's Puentes y Calzadas Infraestructuras, in which two-thirds of the shares belong to Chinese state-owned company China Road and Bridge Corporation. The Spanish company reportedly offered the lowest price and received the highest score during the building contractor's tender.
It is also stated that China Road and Bridge Corporation is controlled by major Chinese state-owned company China Communications Construction which is under US sanctions since August as it is linked to China's military structures.
When approached by LRT, LG confirmed it's proposing signing the contract with the Spanish company, adding, however, that the procurement procedures have not been completed yet and the draft contract is now being vetted by the special government commission.
Karolis Sankovski, CEO LTG Infra, LG's infrastructure arm, says the commission is set to decide on Thursday on whether the Spanish company meets security criteria.
Rail Baltic is the largest railway infrastructure project in the history of the Baltic states. It will run from Warsaw via Lithuania's Kaunas then to Riga and Tallinn. Estimated to cost around 5.8 billion euros, the railway's total length will stand at 870 km, including 392 km in Lithuania, 265 km in Latvia and 213 km in Estonia.