Latvia announced that they have completed the first 23km wire fence on its 276km border with Russia. The main goal of the barrier is to prevent “illegal migration,” according to State Border Guards spokeswoman Evgeniya Poznyak.
Latvian border guards pass newly built fence at the Latvian-Russian border near Goliseva, Latvia, on April 26, 2016. /CFP Photo
Aimed at preventing “illegal immigrants” from entering the country, Latvia’s fence construction began in 2015, and was expected to be completed in 2019. However, the fence is far from the goal set to protect 193 kilometers of “vulnerable” borderland, based on Latvia’s Delfi news.
Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis previously voiced the need for 80 million euros to be “approximated” for the work when talking about regulating the country’s borders with Russia and Belarus.
The fence itself and general border control reorganization were estimated to be worth 17 million euros, according to State Border Guard. Since an additional 6.3 million euros has been put into the construction, the total costs seem to be more uncertain.
A fence on the border with Russia is seen in Katlesi, Latvia, January 29, 2017. /CFP Photo
The fence has a “minimum” height of 2.7 meters in order to make sure it “not easy to climb on” said State Border Guards chief Normunds Garbars.
Based on this design, the Latvian fence is definitely higher than the “Great Estonian Wall” of 2.5 meters tall. The Latvian government also plans to continue building 60km of fence in 2017.
A border crossing point with Russia in Zabolova, Latvia, on January 29, 2017. /CFP Photo
Other Baltic states are constructing fences alongside borders with Russia, fulfilling the urge to “protect” external EU borders.
In 2015, Estonia’s authorities were planning to build a 108-kilometer-long fence by 2018. The project, costing 70 million euros, was initially dropped, but resurfaced in March 2016.
Lithuania also joined in fence construction, announcing a construction of a “wall” on its border with Russia to fight contraband and prevent wild boars from smuggling certain pig diseases. The cost of the 135km fence was quite modest, at only 3.5 million euros.
