RIGA, Oct 18 (LETA) - Since October 6 when work began to install a temporary barbed-wire fence on Latvia's border with Belarus, one third, or 12 kilometers of the fence, has been installed already, LETA was told at the Provision State Agency. 

The plan is to complete the temporary fence on the border by the end of November. Around half of the fence's entire length has been delivered to the border area, so work on the fence can continue according to the plan. Employees of the Provision State Agency and builders are working to finish the fence as soon as possible. 

As reported, a temporary barbed wire fence will be built on the Latvian-Belarus border by the middle of November, according to the materials presented by the Interior Ministry at the Saeima public expenditure and audit committee meeting last week.

The total amount of the necessary barbed wire is 111 kilometers. The first 17 kilometers were delivered on October 7. Another 37 kilometers had to be delivered by October 14, further 36 kilometers are to be delivered by October 22, and the remaining 21 kilometers in November. The total cost of the project is EUR 3,757,531.

The infrastructure on Latvia's external border with Belarus should be completed by the end of 2023. In total, the border length to be built is 172.9 kilometers long, including a permanent fence is a stretch of 134 kilometers.

The available funding for 2022-2024 for a permanent infrastructure is EUR 2,072,400, while earmarked funding is EUR 27,833,721.