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Friday, 26.04.2024, 21:42
Poor state of Latvia's roads causes losses of more than EUR 1 bln to motorists each year
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He indicated that these losses are incurred because of a loss time, increased fuel consumption, as well as wear-and-tear.
In Lange’s words, the necessary government funding for Latvia’s roads would be EUR 720 mln. This amount would be sufficient to fix the roads that are in poor or very poor condition in ten years’ time, but the current funding is much smaller.
This year, the government has earmarked EUR 159 mln for roads, while the EU’s allocations for Latvia’s roads is projected at EUR 130 mln. In Latvia, funding for roads is significantly smaller than in Estonia and Lithuania.
The LVC CEO noted that only one third of the taxes paid by motor road users are actually spent on roads and in 2020 the EU will stop providing money for Latvia’s roads. From 2020, the size of annual funding for roads might drop to an estimated EUR 150 mln, of which only EUR 75 mln could be allocated for capital investments. As a result, road repairs would be cut by two thirds.
Lange stressed that the problem needs a solution.
The annual conference on road construction and maintenance takes place in Jurmala today.
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