Discussion ‘What it means to manage a project worth hundreds of millions of euros?”, which was organized on 2 September in the discussion at the festival “Būtent!”, engaged Rail Baltica representatives in the talks about the Global Project’s importance for the region. Discussion was joined by Marius Narmontas, Head of the Lithuanian branch of RB Rail AS, central coordinator of the Rail Baltica global project, Loreta Maskaliovienė, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications, Arenijus Jackus, Head of Strategy and Business Development, Management of Rail Baltica, LTG Infra and Tomas Varneckas, Director of Infrastructure at EPSO-G, and moderated by the journalist Daiva Žeimytė-Bilienė.
Important part of the discussion was the integration of transport into the EU as one of the core tasks in the field of national security, and the dependence on the former Soviet system as a risk factor that would be eliminated by the connection of the Lithuanian rail network and future Rail Baltica infrastructure to the European network. In addition, logistics is undergoing a North-South reorientation: historically, we did not have such a link, everything was oriented towards the East, and the importance of the Rail Baltica project in this context is even greater.
“The Rail Baltica project is extremely complex as the design, planning and construction work is taking place simultaneously in three different countries. In this context efficient coordination is crucial. Furthermore, we, as a joint venture, also focus on building long-term strategic partnerships and commitments. At this moment, we have more than 150 active contracts with total value above 900 million euros and it brings the added value to the whole region economy”, says Marius Narmontas, Head of the Lithuanian branch of RB Rail AS.
BŪTENT! (“Makes Sense!”) is an annual assembly in a cosy open-air area of Birštonas with a festival-type atmosphere, where people from political, business, academic, cultural, and non-governmental organizations discuss important topics for the development of the state, share ideas and forge new collaborations.
Recording of the discussion available here.
Photos by D. Žvirblis.