The line of the international railway Rail Baltica will remain a priority among Lithuania's transport projects, states Transport Minister Eligijus Masiulis.
On Tuesday, the transport minister met with Pavel Telicka, coordinator of the "Rail Baltica" project appointed by the European Commission, and assured him that the set terms would be met, informs LETA/ELTA.
Telicka favorably evaluated Lithuania's efforts in the implementation of the project.
According to him, Vilnius has always been one of the driving forces for the expansion of Rail Baltica. However, it is important that it would not remain a mere political decision, but would be seen in the practical work as well.
Minister Masiulis stated that he was dissatisfied with the pace of work. "I have requested far firmer and rapid decisions," he said. The minister stressed Lithuania's determinacy to carry out the work on time and use the assistance funds of the European Union transparently. "Moreover, we have to take care of further formation of cargo flows and international routes," the minister stressed.
The minister introduced the project's coordinator to the progress of the Rail Baltica project in Lithuania. It is expected that the European railway line from the state border between Lithuania and Poland to Marijampole would be built by to 2013-2014.
It is planned to allocate around 1.55 billion litas (450 million euros) to the Rail Baltica project in Lithuania by 2013. The project will be financed by the TEN-T Fund, the Cohesion Fund of the European Union and Lithuania's state budget.