Summary sheet
The project will finance a four-year investment programme concerning the rehabilitation of the district heating network in Riga city.
In line with the EU and national energy efficiency objectives, the project will improve the energy efficiency and ensure the security of supply of the district heating system in Riga.
The project will support the promoter's investment programme for the rehabilitation and extension of its existing district heating network in the City of Riga, to ensure continuity of heat supply, connect new users and reduce energy losses.
The Project contributes to the EU energy and climate change policy objectives as well as to Latvia's national energy and climate plans. District heating projects contribute towards increasing security of supply. Security of supply can be considered as a public good. The project will allow efficiency savings and losses reduction due to network refurbishment and the reduction of carbon externalities.
The financing of this project will also contribute to Bank's lending priority objectives on energy as well as on climate action and cohesion priority regions. The contribution to policy goals, the economic and broader social benefits are rated excellent. Moreover, the project aligns with the Bank's response measures to the Commission's REPowerEU objectives. The long tenor of the EIB financing combined with flexible drawdown and repayment terms are highly appreciated by the Promoter and considered to be important elements of the project's financing.
Based on its technical characteristics, the project (consisting of reconstruction of district heating pipelines) is not expected to be subject to any Annexes of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive (2011/92/EC as amended by Directive 2014/52/EC), which will be confirmed during appraisal. Based on available information at this stage, the environmental impacts of the project are expected to be minor and related mainly to noise, vibration, dust, and traffic disruption, and mostly temporary during the construction, which will be mitigated through appropriate site organisation and construction management.
As a public undertaking operating in the utility sector, the Promoter is subject to public procurement and its procurement procedures need to be in line with the relevant applicable EU procurement legislation (Directives 2014/23/EU, 2014/25/EU, where applicable, as well as Directive 92/13/EEC), as transposed in the national legislation, with publication of the tender and award notices in the Official Journal of the European Union, as and where required.