The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed up to finance the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) that will design, build, finance and maintain a bypass to the stretch of the E67/A7 motorway that currently passes through the municipality of Kekava.  The EIB will lend EUR61.1 million (US$72.1 million), backed by a guarantee from the Investment Plan for Europe.

The project involves a 17.5 km section of the E67/A7 road (Riga – Bauska – Lithuanian border) and includes the construction of a new bypass of approximately 14 km around Kekava. About 11.5 km of this new stretch of road will be dual carriageway (2x2 lanes), with the rest being a two-lane road. The project also includes four major grade separated interchanges and sections with lanes for local traffic, complementing investments made on the Via Baltica route and improving driving conditions.

The new infrastructure will divert transit traffic away from densely populated areas of Kekava to a new route bypassing it from the west. The aim is to improve road safety and reduce health risks for local residents. The financing will support the improvement of the section of the A7 motorway (part of the Via Baltica) south of Riga, which is part of the core Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

The EIB will lend to the Kekava ABT AS special purpose vehicle on a 50/50 basis together with the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB).