The Liepaja Special Economic Zone Authority has concluded a contract with SIA "Eko osta" for carrying out remediation works and removing historically polluted sediments of the Karosta Canal of the Port of Liepaja. According to the concluded agreement, rehabilitation works shall be started after the development and approval of the Karosta Canal rehabilitation program, however, not later than April 1, 2023. The project shall be completed by November 30, 2023. Within the framework of the contract, it is planned to remove approximately 164 thousand m3 of the contaminated sediment and the total sum of the contract is EUR 3,497,260.00.

The Liepaja SEZ Authority is currently implementing the project "Rehabilitation Works of the Karosta Canal of Historically Contaminated Sites in the Port of Liepaja" with the aim of reducing the negative impact of the historically polluted sediments of the Karosta Canal on the environment, human health and the ecological state of the Baltic Sea. To achieve the goal, approximately 400 tons of hazardous chemicals will be removed from the canal bed.

The project is financed within the framework of the Norwegian Financial Instrument 2014- 2021 program "Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation and the Environment". "This is a long-planned and unique project that will allows the Liepaja SEZ Authority to achieve several goals, both by solving environmental and ecological issues in the Baltic Sea region, by removing it from the HELCOM's Baltic Sea "hot spots" list, and by opening up opportunities to continue developing active business in the Karosta Canal and the adjacent territories in the future " emphasizes CEO of the Liepaja SEZ Uldis Hmieļevskis.

The Project Manager Ivo Koliņš points out that the municipality of Liepaja will benefit from the implementation of the Project, as the achievement of the goals and actions of the Baltic Sea Action Plan of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) will be achieved - the ecological diversity and dynamics of the sea, cleanliness will be ensured, health and productivity under marine conditions where the marine environment is used sustainably, preserving the potential of marine waters for this and the future generations. As a result, the residents of the City of Liepaja will no longer be exposed to the risks of the historical pollution, the ecological condition of the sea and the quality of the surrounding environment will be significantly improved.

The clean-up project of the Karosta Canal of the Port of Liepaja is a unique project on the European scale, therefore the project results must correspond to the best practice in the implementation of environmental protection projects. One of the project partners - the Norwegian Water Research Institute (NIVA) - participates in the project as an experienced partner in implementing the rehabilitation works of similar objects in Norway and providing knowledge to the Latvian specialists who will be responsible for maintaining the achieved goals in the future.

The rehabilitation works of the Karosta Canal of the Port of Liepaja will be carried out within the framework of the project "Remediation of the Karosta Canal of the Port of Liepaja Historically Contaminated Sites", which is implemented by the Liepaja Special Economic Zone Authority, in cooperation with the Norwegian Water Research Institute and the association "Baltijas Krasti".