The tentative opening date of the National Stadium in Vilnius – autumn of 2026 – will likely be postponed again. The Vilnius municipal authorities say they are waiting for the European Commission to assess the report of the Public Procurement Service (VPT) on the construction of the so-called multifunctional complex.
The EC is only expected to provide its conclusions in autumn, so the opening date of the National Stadium may be pushed again to 2027.
After months of evaluating the changes to the concession contract, the VPT proposed to equally share the increase in costs between the builder and the authorities. This would supposedly allow saving around 2.5 million euros. The VPT also proposed not to index the new buildings added to the project.
“The fact is that both we and they are looking at the final cost of the project,” said Adomas Bužinskas, director of the Vilnius Municipality Administration.
“Today, I can say that there is certainly much more agreement and understanding with the VPT than there was before. We cannot leave their opinion aside, and their opinion is also taken into account by the EC when assessing the project. Until we have the EC’s conclusions, there is nothing we can do,” he added.
According to the current agreements, BaltCap, which has passed on the project to the real estate developer Hanner after the embezzlement scandal, should continue the construction. According to Bužinskas, the work is not being carried out because there are risks that the company established by BaltCap for the construction of the multifunctional complex would not be financially viable.
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Meanwhile, Hanner can only take over the shares of this company after the EC’s verdict. Moreover, if the EC were to accept the recommendations of the VPT, the project would have to be re-approved by the Vilnius City Council.
“Then the whole process starts all over again. This means that we have to go back to the EC with a new amendment to the contract and then go back to the VPT again. I think we will be explaining these things until the end of the year,” said Aleksandras Nemunaitis, an opposition member of the Vilnius City Council.
Complicated situation
If the EC does not approve the new plans for the multifunctional complex, the Vilnius City Council may ignore the comments of the VPT, which may turn to the court, as it has already done in 2019, and seek to protect the public interest.
According to Vilnius Councillor Nemunaitis, one of the possible scenarios is building only the stadium and making decisions on the other components of the multifunctional complex later.
“We can build only the stadium under the current building permit. And then let’s sit down and think whether we need this infrastructure or not, who will pay for it. Let’s remember that the stadium itself is paid for by the government through the Education Ministry. The city wouldn’t even need the money – the money is already earmarked for the stadium,” he said.
The issue of the multifunctional complex is also being examined by parliamentarians. The Seimas Audit Committee is questioning how Hanner took over the project without any tender.
A few weeks ago, the committee asked the municipal administration for the minutes of the negotiations. But the situation is extremely complicated, says committee member Rasa Budbergytė.
“Wouldn’t it be more rational to launch a new tender to resolve everything? There would be new prices, new bids, and perhaps then there would be less doubt that there is some lack of transparency. We are all really thinking today about where to get the money from, because it is certainly not buried in any ditch, [it is needed] for defence and other things financed from the state budget,” Budbergytė said.
The Vilnius City Municipality says it expects the EC’s decision in June. Hanner CEO Arvydas Avulis has previously stated that the company’s participation in the project will be finalised after the EC conclusions.
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