“In the coming year, we plan to significantly improve the condition of Lithuanian roads and accessibility by air, to continue the strategic road and railway projects Via Baltica and Rail Baltica, to reconstruct the national roads Vilnius-Utena and Kaunas-Prienai, as well as to transform transport and communications towards a green course. The Ministry of Transport and Communications has developed a new Road Maintenance and Development Programme (RMDP) planning system based on clearer criteria and a long-term three-year planning, giving more opportunities to local municipalities and ensuring more transparent funding arrangements. With the approval of the state budget by the Seimas, we will be able to distribute the funds of the RMDP more transparently and efficiently,” said Ramūnas Dilba, Chancellor of the Ministry.
The largest part of the budget, i.e., 543.2 million euros, will be allocated to the RMDP, which is 11.6 million euros more than in 2021. It is planned that 115 km of gravel roads of national significance will be paved, 150 km of roads of national significance will be repaired, and 21 km of pedestrian and bicycle paths will be built or reconstructed using these funds.
The EU funding will be provided for transport projects of particular importance to Lithuania. More than 282 million euros are expected to be allocated for about 30 projects, including the Rail Baltica project connecting the three Baltic States with Western Europe, the dredging of the Klaipėda State Seaport, the reconstruction of the Via Baltica highway and the financing of the Vilnius-Utena road with extremely poor road surface.
The list of EU-funded projects also includes the improvement of rail transport: electrification of the railway network, measures to reduce railway noise, and the introduction of road safety measures. Among the priorities of the Ministry is the development of a broadband communication network in rural areas, which will create conditions for the provision of high-speed broadband communication services (100 Mbps and higher) and the deployment of 5G communication networks.
Moreover, next year, the priorities of the Ministry of Transport and Communications includes the 5G Sandbox tender, for the implementation of which 24.5 million euros of RRF funds have been allocated. The initiative will promote field trials and practical applications of innovative solutions based on the new generation of 5G connectivity in various fields (industry, transport, healthcare, energy, etc.). The tender for business and science is planned to be announced in the autumn of 2022.
In 2022, it is planned to allocate 4 million euros for the reconstruction of the departure terminal of Vilnius Airport. Construction of a new departure terminal is planned to begin next year. The public procurement for the construction of a new departure terminal at Vilnius Airport has already been announced. It is expected to select a contractor before the middle of 2022 and start work immediately.
It is planned to allocate 8.4 million euros for the modernisation of the Medininkai border checkpoint in order to increase the truck throughput, modernise this checkpoint and ensure that this project is completed by 2023.
The 2022 budget is planned to allocate funds for investments into the transition from fossil fuels to clean transport and promotion of sustainable mobility. It is expected to renew the infrastructure of bicycle and pedestrian paths, to promote the renewal of the ecological fleet of public vehicles, to ensure the development of the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, the implementation of sustainable mobility measures and other activities related to the green transformation of transport.
