RIGA, Nov 26 (LETA) - As the government on Tuesday started to examine the scenario for the first phase of Rail Baltica in Latvia, ministers expressed support for the development of a cross-border connection from the Lithuanian border to Estonia, as well as for providing a connection between Riga Airport and Riga Central Station within the existing railway infrastructure, cutting all expenses as much as possible.

Prime Minister Evika Silina (New Unity) said that in the Rail Baltica project, it is necessary to determine where construction works should be started first of all, as well as to stop potential spending on activities that Latvia does not plan to pursue.

Transport Minister Kaspars Briskens (Progressives) said that financing is the project's greatest challenge, so the Transport Ministry proposes a first phase scenario envisaging maximum cost reductions and continues work on other cost saving measures.

Briskens said that a functioning rail link must be provided with the available funding, adding that it is important to adopt at least part of the protocol decisions proposed by the Transport Ministry.

Kristine Malnaca, the Transport Ministry's Undersecretary of State, presented to the government the Transport Ministry's proposal, which foresees the construction of the cross-border Rail Baltica link as a single railway line from the Lithuanian border to Estonia. She added that funding is currently available for a 40 kilometer-section from the Latvian/Lithuanian border to Misa, so the plan is to move northwards in line with the available funding, as well as to attract alternative financing instruments.

At the same time, in the first stage, the Transport Ministry proposes to complete construction works at the Rail Baltica train station at Riga Airport and the southern part of Riga Central Station, as well as to construct the Riga Airport Station-Imanta connection, so that both passenger stations can be used for 1,520 millimeter (mm) gauge passenger trains. Malnaca pointed out that about EUR 500 million are needed to complete the two stations and related infrastructure and to build the four-kilometre stretch from the airport to Imanta. "We have found European Union (EU) structural funds that could finance this project," Malnaca added.

The prime minister underlined that Latvia needs to wait for the European Commission's decision, as the national budget does not have such money, and that the Commission will assess the justification of the project's costs. "We would like to, but we cannot say now that Rail Baltica will be running through Riga," the prime minister stressed.

Briskens said that the coalition agrees that the Riga stations cannot be left unbuilt because the airport station cannot be left an "isolated island", which is why it is necessary to provide the Imanta-Riga Airport connection to link the two stations within the existing infrastructure.

As reported, the Transport Ministry has prepared a scenario for the implementation of the first phase of Rail Baltica in Latvia, which envisages the construction of a single track from the Lithuanian border to Estonia, as well as a European gauge rail connection to one of the two Riga international stations, while before the completion of the first phase of the project it is planned to connect the two Riga international stations within the existing railway infrastructure.

Finance Ministry does not support the Transport Ministry's proposal and has more than 20 objections.

According to the latest information from RB Rail, the cost of the first phase of Rail Baltica in the Baltics could reach EUR 14.3 billion, of which EUR 5.5 billion in Latvia, but potential savings of up to EUR 400 million from optimization of technical solutions and other savings are also possible.

Rail Baltica is a double track, European standard 1,435 mm gauge electrified railway for passenger and freight transport to be built from Tallinn to the Lithuanian-Polish border. The overall length of the railway will be 870 kilometers.