At a government meeting on July 23, amendments to regulatory provisions* prepared by the Ministry of Culture (MC) were supported, so that, with the investment of European Union (EU) funds, historical exhibitions could be created in the renovated rooms of Riga Castle and the Daugavas gāte could be improved.
These projects are therefore included in the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) co-financed program, which aims to preserve, protect and develop unique cultural monuments of national importance located in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in the historic center of Riga.
The project at Riga Castle will be implemented by the Latvian National Museum of History, investing EUR 1,276,672, which will partially cover the costs of the exhibition to be built, while the Daugavas gāte improvement project will be implemented by the state joint stock company "State Real Estate" (SRE), investing EUR 1,695,618.
As previously announced by the MC, three projects have already been launched within the framework of this programme, with funding from EU funds attracted by the MC: SRE is implementing the Great Guild concert hall and the Latvian National Museum of Art exhibition hall “Arsenāls”, while Riga City Council is implementing a project to improve the public outdoor space in Old Riga (Vaļņu Street).
In total, the planned and available funding for the implementation of all five projects is increased to EUR 36,684,790, including ERDF funding of EUR 31,182,071 and national funding of EUR 5,502,719 (state budget co-financing of EUR 4,620,366 and municipal co-financing of EUR 882,353).
The amendments also change the rate of indirect eligible costs, which was previously set at 15% of the project management staff remuneration costs, increasing it to a flat rate of 7% of the project's direct eligible costs. The amendments also clarify the possible monitoring of commercial activity support.
* Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 530 of 12 September 2023, "European Union Cohesion Policy Programme 2021-2027 5.1.1. Specific support objective "Promoting integrated social, economic and environmental development of local areas and cultural heritage, tourism and safety in urban functional areas" 5.1.1.5. Measure "Restoration of unique European cultural heritage to promote its accessibility by developing cultural services" implementation rules".
Information prepared by:
Dace Vizule,
Public Relations Specialist, Ministry of Culture
+371 29192298
Dace.Vizule@km.gov.lv
(Translated with the help of DeepL Translate)
