Wisdom » Reflections

Did A. Ameriks Sell Kundziņsala to the Russians?

Tormented and poisoned by oil products (benzene is a carcinogenic substance whose concentration is regularly exceeded at least fourfold), Sarkandaugava and Kundziņsala residents have been dealt two more unpleasant surprises by Riga City Council, which promise to make daily life even more unbearable with even greater stench, noise, and now also the threat of explosions.

The city development plan, which envisages the construction of road infrastructure and the destruction of the green belt;
The fertiliser terminal construction cherished by A. Šlesers (recall the Rīdzene recordings) and approved by A. Ameriks, whose operations are due to begin in the second half of 2012.

Looking at the Riga Development Plan for 2006–2018, we see a thoroughly bleak picture: Kundziņsala levelled, incorporated into the Riga Free Port territory and built over with various terminals, which among other things not only stink and rumble but could also explode at some point. Tvaika Street widened to 4 lanes (of course at the expense of the green zone) with an overpass to Viestura Prospekt, turning onto Kundziņsala directly opposite Aldaris. The Kundziņsala railway line overburdened, supplying cargo arriving from Russia. Clouds of dust swirling about and phosphate-containing waste regularly dumped in the Daugava (not less than 5 tonnes/year [3]). Man-Tess, in principle, no longer fits into this plan. Nor do the residents of Kundziņsala, nor those of Tvaika Street, and possibly the residents of Riga in general - except for Baltezers, Mārupe, and Jūrmala. Incidentally, neither A. Šlesers nor A. Ameriks are Riga residents.

The mineral fertiliser transshipment terminal - SIA Riga Fertilizer Terminal - cherished by A. Šlesers (LPP/LC) and supported by A. Ameriks (formerly LPP/LC, now GKR), is being kept in inexplicable secrecy. It is being ignored both by Man-Tess, in whose adjacent waters a rumbling little vessel is busily operating, and by the Riga Free Port, which could not even be bothered to substantively answer residents' questions about potential environmental damage, and by Riga City Council's Development Department, which either did not understand the question formulated in Latvian or else found the strange interest of neighbourhood residents puzzling (has everything been paid for already?).
Update - Riga City Construction Board response at the end of the article.
Update - Riga City Building Inspection response at the end of the article.

Regardless, the truth came to light and from cadastre numbers 01000492026, 01000682080, 01000682081, and 01000682089 one can determine that this is SIA Riga Fertilizer Terminal. With the blessing of State Environmental Service director Inta Hahele (18.02.2011, No. 5-4/479), the assessment of Environmental Oversight State Bureau department head Ērika Ulāne, the good wishes of the State Fire and Rescue Service, and the care of A. Ameriks (30.06.2011, No. 54), the project was given the green light.

On 25 October 2011, the former Soros Fellow and newly minted politician Lolita Čigāne (Unity), whether driven by her own initiative or prompted by voters, raised this topic [2], but went quiet upon realising that it was already too late and that in Riga City Council's vote - in which the debate took only 370 seconds - Unity deputies also voted "For".

The Dangerous Cargo

Ammonium nitrate is explosive. In the dangerous goods classification table it outcompetes many toxic and infectious substances, as well as radioactive materials. As an ingredient for making bombs (only a few tonnes were needed), it was also used by the notorious Oslo bomber Anders Behring Breivik. Other cases are also known - for example, in 2007 in Mexico a vehicle carrying a mere 22 tonnes of nitrate was involved in an accident, leaving 150 people injured and 37 killed. Or right here in France, in Toulouse, in 2001, when 200 tonnes of nitrate exploded, 31 people were killed and 2,442 were injured. The explosion shattered windows in buildings within a 3 km radius. The cause of the explosion was never established. [2]

SIA Riga Fertilizer Terminal on Kundziņsala plans to store 90,000 tonnes, with a transshipment volume of 2 million tonnes per year (initially only 1 million was mentioned). In the vicinity, in close proximity, there are both several oil transshipment terminals and a liquefied gas terminal. The railway overpass, which crosses the only land road connecting Kundziņsala to the mainland, is planned to block traffic for up to 40 minutes per day, and in the event of a railway train derailment - for an indefinite period.

The residents of Daugavpils and Rēzekne are also genuinely alarmed, as the dangerous cargo is planned to be transported precisely through these cities' railway stations. They have gathered 600 signatures and also protested outside the Saeima on 27 September 2011.

SIA Riga Fertilizer Terminal

If one is to believe a document that has strayed into the public internet space, the owners of SIA Riga Fertilizer Terminal are SIA Rīgas Tirdzniecības Osta with 49 capital shares and an offshore company registered in Cyprus, URALCHEM FREIGHT LIMITED, with 51 capital shares. The company's share capital is 2,000 Ls and each party has undertaken to invest around half a million lats.

The chairman of the board, Russian citizen Dmitry Konyaev, is also the general director of the Uralchem concern. Deputy chairman Russian citizen Mikhail Bashlachev. On the board one can also notice persons associated with the Riga Trade Port, for example Roberts Kļaviņš.

The Uralchem concern, according to the Independent Ecology Rating Agency, is the leader in environmental pollution (in the Kirov region). In a Business FM radio interview, the head of Russia's ecological oversight service, N. Kutyin, also pointed to suspicions of corruption in connection with the said company and environmental inspections.

No One Is Responsible

It is clear that the transshipment operations will bring additional noise, dust, and environmental pollution. From the public hearing of 11 February 2011 and other public documents it follows [3] that:

European standards require the construction of protective barriers, but not a single (!) state institution that gave its opinion demanded them.
In response to M. Jansons' (Kundziņsala Association) question about the long-term closure of the railway crossing, the company's representative indicated that this was the competence of the Riga Free Port. Knowing the Free Port's catastrophic communication style, one can conclude that there will be no responsible party.
The projected pollution and noise levels are close to the Cabinet of Ministers requirements, which means that with several companies operating, they will be exceeded.
In the noise propagation assessment issued by SIA R&D Acoustics (director J. Saprovsky), noise propagation in the direction of residential buildings on Tvaika Street is not examined at all. Despite the fact that the distance from the facility to the nearest building is 1.5 km, there is a direct line of sight, and therefore there is no basis to assume that the noise would be absorbed along the way.
To the question of who would be responsible if a train were to derail? R. Kļaviņš indicates that it would not be the company, mentioning "let us hope the relevant services will be able to respond promptly".
Referring to the 2009 incident involving a chemical substance leak on Kundziņsala, for which no one ever took responsibility, R. Kļaviņš implies that responsibility should be assumed by the cargo sender. In other words - by no one.

P.S. An interesting observation: almost all companies belonging to the Riga Trade Port group have their bank account at Swedbank. Swedbank has also provided 30 million lats in financing for the construction of SIA Riga Fertilizer Terminal's terminal.

Response from Riga City Construction Board:

Having assessed the content of the e-mail in conjunction with the information available to the Construction Board, the Construction Board informs that on 22.12.2011 the Construction Board issued building permit No. BV-11-979-abv/Z to the client SIA "Riga fertilizer terminal" for the facility "Temporary storage and transshipment complex for mineral fertilisers in the Riga Free Port, 1st and 2nd stage, Kurpnieksala [no number], Kundziņsalas 8th Line 5, Mīlgrāvis, Daugava land plot on Kundziņsala [no number]", group/land 68/2080,2081,2089,22 (building permit valid until 30.06.2013.) and on 10.01.2012 the Construction Board registered the building permit No. 5-19/3-4-61 issued on 28.12.2011 by the State Railway Technical Inspection for the client "Riga Free Port Authority" for the facility "Renovation and construction of the Riga Free Port railway yard 'Kundziņsala'. Signalling and telecommunications equipment on Kundziņsalas 3rd Line [no number]", group/land 68/2081, (building permit valid until 27.12.2012.).

Response from the head of Riga City Building Inspection (Upmalis Juris, place of residence - Jūrmala!):

In connection with your questions of 24.07.2012 and 30.07.2012 regarding the north-eastern part of Kundziņsala, I inform you that at Kundziņsalas 8th Line 5, conservation works are underway for the facility "Construction of a temporary storage and transshipment complex for mineral fertilisers in the Riga Free Port" and for the facility "Construction of railway access tracks at Kundziņsalas 8th Line 5". For the construction of the mineral fertiliser transshipment complex, a project was accepted on 14.12.2011 under No. 1359 at Riga City Construction Board and a building permit was issued on 22.12.2011 under No. BV-11-979-abv/Z.