Lithuania. City of Vilnius

The loan has been provided for infrastructure projects, energy efficiency and municipal transport fleet renewal projects.

The loan is earmarked for the construction of the Vilnius western by-pass, which is part of the IX Trans-European transport corridor (E28 and E85 roads connecting Lithuanian Klaipeda and Russian Kaliningrad to Vilnius and Minsk) and E272 road connecting Vilnius and Riga. The western motorway will integrate the transport system of Vilnius into the transport system of the surrounding region and the country as well as the Baltic and European transport networks. The length of the road under construction is 9 kilometres.

The NIB-financed investment programme also includes a street reconstruction project. The prospective improvements aim at reducing congestion, and increasing the capacity and safety of the street network.

The energy efficiency investment comprises the renovation of 29 schools and two hospitals. Potential energy saving is estimated at around 40% of the current consumption.

The fleet renewal project aims at replacing 26 old buses and trolleybuses. Diesel-driven buses will be replaced with compressed natural-gas driven ones.

The programme includes important infrastructure investments aiming at promoting the economic development of the city of Vilnius. Linking the capital city to international transportation routes will contributes to competitiveness of the country’s economy. The development of inner high-speed roads will contribute to better efficiency of transit traffic and help decrease greenhouse gas emissions in the city centre. The energy-efficiency and fleet-renewal projects are also expected to help reduce air pollutions.

The new road bypass project will be performed in accordance with the Bank’s environmental policy and guidelines. The main environmental advantage is the transfer of traffic from the city centre to the new bypass. This will result in some reductions of air emissions. The building of the new bypass will also have some negative aspects related to intensifying traffic in a city environment.

The street reconstruction project, including the construction of an overhead road, levelling of street coat surface, changing traffic signs, new installations of street lightning, the installation of cycle and pedestrian paths and the reconstruction of rain water collection system, will improve the traffic conditions but also increase the traffic and the noise levels in the surrounding areas. Noise mitigation measures will be developed for the project.

In the energy-efficiency project, the main environmental issue is the use of energy. The project is expected to reduce the use of energy for the buildings by 19 GWh annually. The municipal utility UAB Vilniaus vystymo kompanija has an Environmental Management System certified in accordance with ISO 14001. The project follows the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings.

By renewing the municipal transport fleet, the city of Vilnius will meet the EU environmental standards in this area and improve the efficiency of its public transportation system.