Vilnius officials admit national stadium project stuck in limbo

Vilnius' municipal officials admit that the Lithuanian capital's national stadium project is stuck in limbo as Vilniaus Nacionalinis Stadionas (VNS), the second bidder for a concession agreement, plans to contest a court ruling upholding the city's decision to remove it from the tender process.

The Vilnius Regional Court dismissed VNS' lawsuit on Thursday, but the company can still appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals.

"We will definitely contest the ruling," Renatas Nacajus, the company's CEO and co-owner, told BNS in a comment.

Povilas Poderskis, the capital's municipal administration director, told BNS that despite the favorable ruling, the project remained in limbo because the court had barred the city from signing a national stadium concession agreement with Axis Industries, a company of the Icor Group, as an interim precautionary measure.

The 79.9-million-euro deal with Axis industries on the construction of a national stadium in the capital was approved by the City Council of Vilnius in late February.

Attempts to build an international-standard stadium in the capital's Seskine neighborhood have been made since 1987. Construction works were last started in 2008 but had to be halted as the funding was discontinued.