RIGA, Oct 3 (LETA) - The SPA center in Rezekne, built with the support of structural funds but remains empty, is a symbol of the style in which the city's development has been planned, Guna Puce, head of the municipality's temporary administration, told LETA in an interview.

In her opinion, the SPA project proves that the calculation of the economic benefit was apparently not justified, because it is not possible to find an investor to achieve the project's objectives.

"I think that the SPA center is a symbol of the overall style in which the city has been developing. When you go to Rezekne and walk around the city, you can see that development is happening and the city's facilities are unique for Latvia - the SPA center, there is an outdoor swimming pool at the Olympic Center. Projects have been implemented on a grand scale," said Puce.

On the one hand, it is not bad that the municipality has ambitions and a desire to make the environment better for the residents, but the other question is whether the municipality can afford it in the long term or whether these projects can become successful businesses, Puce admitted.

"I think we can work more individually, individually approach potential investors, change the way we have been doing things. Of course, bearing in mind that the scenarios could be different, because time continues to moves on when you are endlessly looking for an investor," said the head of the interim administration.

She called the SPA one of the "main" projects and issues on the agenda, and one that the interim administration is working on all the time.

At the same time, Puce would does want to blame the municipality alone, because when this project was planned, the idea was to also build a hotel. The fact that there is no hotel has a big impact on investor interest.

"After the project, it is easy to talk about how things should have been done. However, when it started, there was no Covid-19 or war. The question is whether the municipality's response was appropriate at that moment when external conditions changed significantly," Puce assessed, adding that at some point decisions may have had to be reassessed.