“I am happy and proud of the EPSO-G Group, which implemented the project. Supervising the project and presenting the progress of the physical barrier to the Seimas, as well as the committees and commissions, involved quite a bit of work. The work was completed on time and on budget, and today our country has become a safer place,” says Minister of Energy Dainius Kreivys.
On Monday, representatives of EPSO-G, which is implementing the physical barrier project, informed the project supervision commission headed by the prime minister that they had fenced all of the planned sections along the national border.
A few more weeks will be needed to complete the final phase of the project, which will include cleaning up the construction sites and the roads leading up to them, getting roads back in order, and eliminating minor defects in the physical barrier. The quality of the work will be evaluated by technical maintenance specialists, and the final project documentation will be drawn up.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the installation of a physical barrier in August of last year, after the Belarusian regime launched a hybrid attack against Lithuania, resulting in an influx of illegal migrants into the country. The physical barrier is being installed in accordance with the requirements of the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) – a concertina prism was installed on the national border, and fence segments topped with concertina spiral coil are being built next to it. The total height of the fence with the concertina is approximately 4 metres above ground.
During the construction of the physical barrier, 453 kilometres of new fence segments were installed, 76 kilometres of previously installed fences were renovated, and 357 kilometres of concertina prism were built. The overall physical barrier also included approximately 80 kilometres of concertina barrier that was installed in the summer and autumn of 2021 by military and fire forces put together by the Ministry of the Interior.
The project will be implemented within the planned budget of EUR 152 million. The final amount of funds used will become clear after completion of the final stage of the project, which is expected to be in October.
A total of 65 design and construction companies put together by EPSO-G worked on the construction of the physical barrier. A few dozen more companies provided accommodation and meals for workers as well as other services.
At the peak of construction, more than 900 workers were working on the border with Belarus at one time. Over 150 pieces of equipment were used, including post drivers, excavators, scaffolding, forklifts, long booms, tractors, dump trucks, wheeled and crawler lifts, and timber cranes. Amphibious vehicles were used to handle difficult sections of the border, where four-wheelers and all-terrain vehicles were not enough. This is one of the largest construction projects in Lithuania in terms of the number of workers.
The total length of the Lithuanian border with Belarus is 679 kilometres. More than 100 kilometres of the national border runs along the banks of rivers and lakes, where there are no plans to install physical barriers.
The project supervision commission is headed by Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and includes the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Environment, the Minister of Finance, the Commander of the State Border Guard Service, the Chief of the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment, and a representative of the EPSO-G Group, which is implementing the project.
