Skanste Park now strewn with broken glass pieces after its opening
In the heart of Riga, the Skanstes Park construction project is currently facing some setbacks, but the project team remains optimistic about finding solutions.
The first phase of the project, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the state budget, and the Riga City Council budget, cost more than €21 million. Dagnis Samausks, Head of the Project Management Administration of the Riga City Council's City Development Department, has acknowledged the presence of glass during construction. Preventive cleaning was carried out to remedy the glass contamination discovered during construction, and the builder has promised to collect all glass by 31 May.
However, the second phase of the park's construction will not be possible for 5-7 years due to natural soil settling. A part of the park area is at risk of subsidence, up to approximately 80 cm. This means that completion of the second phase will require additional funding.
One potential solution to meet the deadline for the second phase is to bring in a lot of soil, compact it, and drill holes in the ground. Liquid would have to be removed under pressure as part of the proposed solution.
Project Manager Aivars Belkovskis has expressed regret over the situation, acknowledging that timely decisions should have been made to avoid this situation. He suggests that lessons should be learned from past mistakes and believes that tough decisions, although potentially unpopular, would have benefited the project in terms of deadlines and costs.
Despite these challenges, the project received the Latvian Construction Industry Award, recognising the team's efforts and dedication. Belkovskis emphasises the importance of moving forward and learning from the experiences to ensure a successful completion of the Skanstes Park project.
For the latest updates and authoritative information, contacting the developers (such as YIT Latvija, involved in Skanstes projects) or the local Riga development authorities would be advisable.
- In an attempt to expedite the second phase of the Skanstes Park construction, the project team is considering a potential solution that involves bringing in soil, compacting it, and drilling holes in the ground to remove liquid, a method suggested by Project Manager Aivars Belkovskis.
- The Skanstes Park project, which has received recognition with the Latvian Construction Industry Award, was initially co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the state budget, and the Riga City Council budget, with the first phase costing more than €21 million.
- EU-funded environmental science research could potentially be applied to analyze the soil and predict subsidence risks better in future Riga construction projects, thus incorporating lessons learned from the Skanstes Park project to enhance the sustainability of environmental-science principles in general-news issues such as urban development.
