A national stadium could be built in the Lithuanian capital in three years if the central government sticks to its commitments, Vilnius Mayor Remigijus Šimašius said on Tuesday.
His comment came after the Court of Appeal upheld Vilnius Regional Court's ruling that annulled the Public Procurement Office's (PPO) order for the city to terminate the national stadium concession process.
"As we expected, the court ruled that the PPO's claims were unfounded," the mayor posted on Facebook. "This means that we can now sign the agreement and start construction."
"We have lost time, but have regained hope: the ball is now in the court of the Education, Science and Sports Ministry. If the government is not backing down from its commitments, we will have the stadium in three years," he added.
Read more: Vilnius ordered to terminate national stadium contract
The Court of Appeal's ruling opens the way for Vilnius to sign a national stadium contract worth over 150 million euros with Axis industries, the winning bidder, and BaltCap, the financial investor in the project.
Following several years of tendering procedures and after receiving the go-ahead both from the City Council and the central government, the municipality planned to sign the concession agreement with Axis industries, an Icor Group company, and BaltCap back in March 2020.
Plans called for building the national stadium complex in 2023. Under the joint contract between the municipality, the builder, the financial investor and the government, Kauno Arena, a Lithuanian company, would operate the complex for more than two decades.
The construction of the stadium with 15,000 seats and a hybrid pitch and other facilities was estimated to cost around 93 million euros. However, BaltCap was to receive a total of almost 156 million euros after Vilnius' authorities opted to spread out the payments over 25 years.
Under the draft contract, the central government's share of project funding would amount to around 54.5 million euros, and Vilnius Municipality would contribute 101.5 million euros.
In addition to the football stadium, the complex would include an athletics stadium, a sports complex with gymnastics, handball, volleyball, boxing and basketball courts, a community and cultural education center with a library, a kindergarten, and a sports museum.
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