As part of the tender for the construction of the modern prototyping workshop ‘Riga Makerspace’ announced by SJSC “State Real Estate” (SRE) , which is to involve the reconstruction of the building of the former Riga Light Industry Technical School in Riga, A. Briāna iela 13, there were 11 bidders, and the bid by SIA ‘Selva būve’, with a bid amount of 6.37 million euros (without VAT), was found to be the most economical and to best suit the tender criteria. Unless the decision is disputed, the contract with the winning tenderer will be concluded within a month. The construction and the adaptation of the premises to the needs of the Riga School of Design and Art and the Art Academy of Latvia is to begin by autumn, according to the head of the SRE Real Estate Development Administration, Jānis Ivanovskis-Pigits.
It is planned to place six new product sample production or prototyping workshops in the buildings under development in accordance with the educational programmes of the mentioned schools, which will ensure a high-quality and competitive learning process for pupils and students. In addition, modern rooms for seminars and other events will be set up.
For the implementation of the prototyping workshop ‘Riga Makerspace’ development project, the Ministry of Culture has attracted funding from the European Union funds Operational Programme ‘Growth and Employment’ 5.6.1 of the specific support objective ‘To promote the revitalisation of the city of Riga, ensuring the efficient socio-economic use of the territory’ and 4.2.1 of the specific support objective ‘To promote the increase of energy efficiency in public and residential buildings’ 4.2.1.2 of the first round of project application selection for the measure ‘Promoting energy efficiency in public buildings’, as well as state budget funds (including Covid-19 funding for stimulating the economy through investments in construction).
At the same time as the creation of a prototyping complex with the support of the ERDF, VNĪ is implementing the creation of two more creative quarters. On the adjacent Miera iela, the 1st stage of the future Tobacco Factory Quarter will be developed for the needs of the Latvian Academy of Culture and Creative Industries Business Incubator, while in the area of Šķirotava at Meirānu iela 2 there will be cultural premises and a performing arts decoration workshop complex of SJSC ‘Latvian National Opera and Ballet’. The construction will take place in three blocks within Riga’s neighbourhoods with the purpose of promoting their creative development, and will be commissioned for use by the public by autumn 2023.
Under the conditions of the pandemic, in accordance with the precautionary and safety requirements, work at 43 national construction sites with a total project budget of 156 million euros continues under the management of VNĪ. The company provides professional real estate management and administration for approximately 400 real estate properties with 1100 buildings of 1.02 million square metres and more than 3600 land properties with an area of 9.6 million square metres. VNĪ is one of 23 Latvian companies that have received the highest platinum award as part of the Sustainability Index of the Institute of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, confirming the good governance and sustainability of its operations. The company was founded in 1996, 100% owned by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia.
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