Baltic states, Poland, Finland agree to build high-speed railroad
TALLINN. July 31 (Interfax) - Representatives of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland reached an agreement at a meeting in Brussels on July 30 to establish a single firm to build the Rail Baltica railroad.
"A joint declaration should be signed in September 2013 at a meeting of the transport ministers of the five countries in Vilnius," the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications told Interfax on Wednesday.
The purpose of this joint venture includes the coordination of preliminary work on Rail Baltica's construction, including the preparation of documents for the European Commission on Project Financing, participating in drafting a relevant bill, composing commercial plans for Rail Baltica, planning the railroad, conducting relevant research and informing public about the project, the ministry said.
"The enterprise being established will initially belong to the three Baltic states, but the declaration allows the possibility of Poland and Finland joining the firm as well," Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts said.
Each shareholder will pay annually 0.65 million euros in the coming four years.
Rail Baltica will be laid from Tallinn to the Polish border and the projected speed of the trains will be up to 240 km/h. The project does not relate to any existing railroads.
