27-10-2021

First segments of the 4-metre-high fence installed on Belarus border

Tetas, a company of the EPSO-G group implementing the project for the construction of a physical barrier on the border with Belarus, has started installing 4-metre-high fence segments on key sections. Firstly, fence segments are being installed in the border section near Druskininkai, where concertina wire has already been laid. On Wednesday, EPSO-G representatives have presented the progress of the work to the Project Supervision Commission chaired by the Prime Minister.

The fence segments and concertina wire, manufactured in Poland and the Netherlands in line with the technical requirements laid down by the State Border Guard Service (SBGS), will be delivered to the key sections totalling the length of approximately 100 kilometres, largely in November and December. For that period, Tetas is planning a major mobilisation of employees and contractors to expeditiously construct the fence.

This week, deployment of a pyramid concertina wire will start in other sections of the first phase of the project, those near the frontier stations of A. Barauskas and Adutiškis, as well. In the first phase of the project, Tetas plans to lay concertina wire in all three most vulnerable sections by the end of the year, and to install fence segments by the end of April next year.

In preparation for the construction of approximately 400-kilometer-long physical barrier during the second phase of the project, EPSO-G is half-way to completion of procurement procedures. 12 potential suppliers have submitted offers to install a physical barrier in the second phase. The construction works of the second phase have been divided into four parts, with 7 to 10 potential suppliers having offered implementation services for each part. The supplier bids are currently being assessed, selected companies will be invited to negotiate, and procurement procedures are scheduled to be completed by the end of November.

When installing a physical barrier right next to the state border with Belarus, a 5- to 6-spiral pyramid concertina wire will be deployed first, and fence segments will be installed next to the concertina wire on the Lithuanian side. Fence segments will be manufactured in line with the SBGS requirements; fence segments will be resistant to adverse weather conditions and soil impact and attached to posts installed into soil. A concertina wire spiral will be attached to the top of the fence. The total height of the fence with a spiral concertina wire on it will amount to 4 meters.

Tetas plans completion of the first stage, installation of approximately 100-kilometre-long two-part physical barrier consisting of a pyramid concertina wire and a fence with a concertina wire spiral at the top, by 30 April 2022. The entire physical barrier on the Belarus-Lithuania border will be installed by 1 September next year.

The Project Supervision Commission is headed by the Prime Minister, and includes the Minister of the Interior, Minister of Energy, Minister of National Defence, Minister of Environment, Minister of Finance, SBGS Commander, Head of the State Territorial Planning and Construction Inspectorate under the Ministry of Environment, and a representative of the Project Promoter, EPSO-G.