Author: Gunita Krilova

Eco Baltia group company Eco Baltia vide, as part of an association of persons, will provide routine maintenance of transport structures in Riga for the next five years

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Eco Baltia vide Ltd (SIA), the environmental management company of Eco Baltia, the largest environmental resource management and waste recycling group in the Baltics, has been awarded the contract to maintain transport structures in Riga, on the right bank of the Daugava River (in the Centre district and Latgale suburb), for the next five years. This was achieved as part of an association of persons in the open tender for the “Daily Maintenance of Transport Structures from 2024 to 2029,” announced by the Riga City Council. The contract price for one year is EUR 15,487,085.25, excluding VAT.

Jānis Aizbalts, Chairman of the Board of Eco Baltia vide, notes that the company’s experience in performing the tendered works was rigorously evaluated during the procurement process: “As our decades of experience in the road management sector in Lithuania and Latvia, including recent years in Riga, show, the requirements in newly announced tenders are relatively high. Therefore, under the most economically advantageous terms, the municipality must ensure the provision of high-quality services that comply with national and EU standards. We are prepared to continue the maintenance of transport structures in Riga in accordance with the procurement procedure, while also striving to contribute to the overall development of the sector in Latvia.”

Given the procedure and specifics of the work, Eco Baltia vide will provide services in Riga as a joint venture with the road construction company CBF Ļ-KO Ltd. Subcontractors will also be engaged to carry out specific tasks. According to the Riga City Council tender conditions and the contract, the joint venture will be responsible for the daily maintenance of transport structures in Riga, on the right bank of the Daugava River (in the Centre district and Latgale suburbs) for the next five years. This includes road surface repair, chipping, gravel or soil profiling and de-dusting, cleaning and seasonal treatment of roads, transport stops, cycle lanes, and other facilities, as well as other related works.

The services under the “Routine Maintenance of Transport Structures from 2024 to 2029” procurement will commence on 1st October, 2024. The total contract price for the entire period in Riga, on the right bank of the Daugava (in the Centre district and Latgale suburbs), is set at EUR 77,435,426.25, excluding VAT.

Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board of Eco Baltia AS, states: “By promoting the development of the Eco Baltia Group in the international market, we have managed to expand our road maintenance activities in Latvia and Lithuania over the past few years. We have gained valuable experience and a wide range of expertise, which has enabled us to continue the Group’s growth through major procurements. It is encouraging to see that municipalities are also focusing on the introduction of environmentally friendly transport in their tenders, as Riga has done in its tender for the maintenance of transport structures. In the long term, we see this as a benefit for both society and business development, as the requirements for greener transport become more stringent. This emphasis is also highlighted as an important pillar in European Union directives.”

Eco Baltia vide currently uses 21 specialized, environmentally friendly waste collection vehicles to provide its services in Latvia. Around 90% of the total annual investment is allocated to the renewal of the fleet to promote “greening” of transport. In line with the contractual project for the maintenance of transport structures in Riga, Eco Baltia vide plans to gradually transition to greener transport for the provision of these services within the first year of the procurement.

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On 18 September 2024, Eco Baltia, the largest environmental resource management and recycling group in the Baltics, will hold its Shareholders’ Meeting.

The agenda of the shareholders’ meeting includes the approval of the following resolutions:

1. Decision on approval of the reorganisation by way of demerger (spin-off);

2. Decision on approval of the reorganisation agreement;

3. Decision on approval of the amendments to the Articles of Association of the Company and the full text of the Articles of Association of the Company after the amendments.

Extraordinary shareholders meeting of the company shall take place on September 18, 2024 at 12:00 (Riga time), at Latgales Street 240-3, Riga, Latvia, office of AS “Eco Baltia” and in online communication site.

Shareholders may familiarize themselves with the draft resolutions to be considered at the meeting of shareholders, as well as to submit proposals on the issues included in the agenda at the office of the Company at Latgales street 240-3, Riga, LV-1063, starting from September 4, 2024, on working days from 8:30 to 17:00, contact information: phone +371 67409828 or e-mail address sigita.namateva@ecobaltia.lv.

The shareholders of Eco Baltia AS are INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund through UAB BSGF Salvus (52.81%), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (30.51%) and Māris Simanovičs (16.68%).

Eco Baltia continues to grow turnover this year – up 10% in the first quarter

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The largest environmental resource management and waste recycling group in the Baltics, Eco Baltia JSC (AS), has closed the first quarter of 2024 with a net turnover of EUR 61.9 million, up 10% year-on-year (Q1 2023: EUR 56.3 million). The turnover was mainly driven by a solid and convincing performance in the environmental management sector, focused efforts on efficiency and automation, and business expansion through acquisitions.

The Group’s consolidated profit before tax for the first three months of 2024 was EUR 670.9 thousand, while consolidated EBITDA in the first quarter reached EUR 9.1 million, an increase of 10.4% compared to the same period last year.

Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Management Board of Eco Baltia: “This year we continue to increase the pace of development of the company, focusing on productivity, as well as new businesses and markets. Last year, we already achieved historically unprecedented results, thus strengthening our position in the Latvian and international markets. Similarly to last year, in the first months of this year we have continued to evaluate the development of the Group through the acquisition of new businesses. We are also continuing to work on a number of investment projects in Lithuania and Latvia, which will allow us to increase both the amount of waste collected and the amount of waste recycled over the next few years.”

Expanding Eco Baltia’s portfolio of companies and services, an agreement was signed in March this year to acquire 100% of the shares in Eko Osta, a Latvian company that manages environmentally harmful and hazardous waste. The transaction will continue after the merger has been approved by the Competition Council. Also at the beginning of this year, Eco Baltia acquired a 40.4% stake in the Latvian road maintenance company JSC (AS) Daugavpils specializētais autotransporta uzņēmums.

Eco Balta Group’s largest environmental management companies – Eco Baltia vide in Latvia and Ecoservice in Lithuania – continued to develop a number of investment projects in the first quarter of the year. Eco Baltia vide invested EUR 2.3 million in the construction of construction waste sorting and recycling sites in the Baltic Sea region (Rumbula) and Liepāja. Both sites have gradually started operations in early summer. Eco Baltia vide is also continuing work on the establishment of a sorting plant for municipal and separately collected waste in Acone, Pierīga, which started last year with a total investment of €11.7 million and will be able to sort 45 000 tonnes of waste annually. Meanwhile, the Lithuanian environmental management company Ecoservice approved an investment of €18 million in early 2024 to rebuild a waste sorting centre in Vilnius, which was hit by fire last year.

Targeted development was also implemented in the recycling sector, where PET Baltija, a PET bottle recycler, completed a rebranding and name change to ITERUM this summer. During the first quarter, work continued on the new PET bottle recycling plant in Olaine, with a total project investment of more than €35 million. More than €10 million of this was contributed by ITERUM. The building will have a total area of approximately 26,250 m2 and will be one of the largest industrial buildings in Latvia and one of the largest PET recycling plants in Northern Europe. At the same time, ITERUM continues to promote the sale and production of products in cooperation with its Czech subsidiary Tesil Fibres, a leading supplier of fibres to the European market for the automotive, hygiene, textile and furniture segments, by developing the recycled PET raw material chain.

Despite the challenges in the recycling sector in recent years, we have used this period to improve efficiency and automate production processes, which is an integral part of long-term business development in the current market conditions. In the coming years, this will allow us to sort waste more accurately, improve the quality of recycled materials, increase recycling capacity and thus bring more waste back into the circular economy. At the same time, we place a strong emphasis on the well-being of our employees. Therefore, we always set high standards in terms of improving the internal work environment and work safety, developing the skills of employees, as well as creating a family-friendly work environment,” says Mr Simanovičs.

As the Eco Baltia Group’s business model and operations are focused on the circular economy, the development and implementation of a consolidated ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategy is also being pursued in the Group’s companies. In line with the Group’s strategic objectives, the main focus in 2024 will be on improving working conditions and safety, the well-being of employees and the promotion of ESG and sustainability.