Lease for Valmiera Industrial Park railway and loading/ unloading (logistics) site

Valmiera Municipality Government has announced an auction of the right to lease the railway network infrastructure (and its connection to the public railway) and the loading/ unloading (logistics) site in Valmiera Industrial Park.

It will ensure the creation of the most modern and efficient international export logistics centre in Vidzeme – Valmiera Industrial Park is located on the only connection between Riga, Estonia and Lithuania. The establishment of the park and the attraction of an international operator will facilitate all the necessary preconditions for the regular shipment of large volumes of domestic cargo by rail, in line with international standards. In 2024, a market research in the Vidzeme region showed that there is sufficient potential for regular rail freight transport – in Vidzeme, the forecast freight volumes for 2030 are at least 3.500 full truck loads (average 24 tonnes gross freight weight). The existing demand would be able to support at least two combined freight trains (46 wagons) per week. The market research did not include companies from the southern and eastern regions of Estonia, for which a rail connection via Valmiera is potentially more advantageous than via Tallinn. Therefore, the overall potential for rail services in the Valmiera Industrial Park area could be higher than currently identified. 

The tenant, by managing and maintaining the infrastructure, will be required to provide the rail freight service, including freight consolidation, transhipment, storage and other related services. The lease term is set up to 30 years.

By the end of 2025, the construction of 2.275 km of railway infrastructure in the Valmiera Industrial Park, including a broad-gauge rail network, and a 0.94 km connection to the public railway will be completed. Construction work is well underway – the connection to the public railway has been completed and the construction of the 1520 mm gauge track has started. In total, two receiving-shipping tracks and a loading-unloading track are being built. Work is also continuing on the concrete laying of a 4.6 ha loading/unloading site with a load-bearing capacity of 60 tonnes. Overall, the works are 50% complete.

The useful loading/ unloading length of the track is planned up to 48 wagons. The design provides for tracks with a rolling stock passing axle load of not less than 25 t and a spread load of not less than 8.5 t/m.

The oral auction of the lease right will take place on 18 June 2025 in the administration building of Valmiera Municipality Government, Lāčplēša Street 2, Valmiera. Applicants for development rights may submit their applications until 9 June 2025 at 17:00 (5 PM) EEST by:

1. handing it in person at the Valmiera Municipality Document Management and Customer Service Centre, Lāčplēša Street 2, Valmiera, Valmiera Municipality, LV-4201, on Mondays from 8 am to 6 pm, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 8 am to 5 pm, Fridays from 8 am to 4 pm;
2. posting to the Auctioneer at the address Lāčplēša Street 2, Valmiera, Valmiera Municipality, LV-4201. The postal item must be delivered to the address specified in the auction within the time limit. The Bidder personally bears the risk of untimely delivery;
3. sending the application electronically, signed with a secure electronic signature, to the municipality’s e-mail address: pasts@valmierasnovads.lv.

More detailed information regarding the requirements for applicants can be found in the auction rules and their annexes (in Latvian):

Lease for Valmiera Industrial Park railway and loading/ unloading (logistics) site

The development of the Valmiera Industrial Park is based on the development documents of the Valmiera Municipality Government, which also include conditions for potential investors, defining sectors of activity (smart specialisation), average wages for employees, the need to include circular economy principles in production technology or to meet the conditions for climate-neutral and green products, etc. The auction rules also specify certain export volumes, non-financial investments, research and development investments, number of jobs, and other criteria.

In the development planning documents of Valmiera Municipality Government, the municipality has defined a strategic goal – wider industrialisation by 2038, promoting the creation of jobs with high added value and export-oriented jobs, as well as reducing regional development disparities between the Riga region and the rest of Latvia. In order to achieve this goal, and focusing on the overall development of the new Valmiera Industrial Park, the technical layout envisages attracting up to five strategic investors (102.54 ha), while creating a cluster approach between potential regional and municipal businesses in the area. It should be mentioned that as a result of the public auction, on 27 August 2024, a contract for the development of the 26 ha land unit in Phase 2 of the Valmiera Industrial Park was concluded with Fibenol Latvia Ltd, which will start construction of the biorefinery in 2027 if the environmental impact studies and feasibility studies are successful. In April this year, a development right agreement was concluded with PATA BOARD Ltd for a 23.7 ha part of the site (adjacent to the area of the lease auction referred to in the article). The auction of the development right for the 12 ha part of the park area is also open. 

The infrastructure works are being carried out with co-financing from the Next Generation EU of EUR 20 million under project No 3.1.1.i.0/1/23/A/CFLA/008 ” Development of Valmiera Industrial Park” (Phase 2 development, 57 ha). More information HERE.