The fifth part of the works of the reconstruction of Mežaparks Great Bandstand is finished.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Nils Ušakovs, chairperson of the Riga Council, Oļegs Burovs, chairperson of the City property committee of the Riga Council, Valdis Koks, project director of general partnership “LNK, RERE”, Aivars Tauriņš, chairperson of the board of SIA “Rīgas meži”, as well as architect Austris Mailītis on Monday surveyed in the presence of the works of reconstruction of The Mežaparks Great Bandstand, prescribing the alignment of the audience zone and bandstand for the XXVI General Latvian Song and XVI Dance Festival of 2018.

“Works are implemented as foreseen, and there is even a time reserve. The first stage of the construction works will be finished by next summer. Among others, the underground volumes for toilets and trading places will be built, and also the surrounding area will be put into order,” stressed Nils Ušakovs, chairperson of the Riga Council.

A team of builders started the works two and half months ago, and currently 24.31% out of the total reconstruction works of the Mežaparks Great Bandstand are finished. Currently, all the planned 2,196 piles are driven in, moving out of 386 tree trunks is finished, more than 40,000 m3 of land are excavated, foundation grid fence in volume of 2,600 m3 is embedded in concrete, as well as concreting of the walls, columns and pilasters is done.

The largest proportion (85%) of the dismantling works of the existing water piping in the area of the Mežaparks Great Bandstand are finished, laying of the communal sewage line is ongoing. Mounting of cables in the section from the bandstand to the gates 6 and 12 has started. Soon, the new access road from Viestura prospekts to the existing parking lots for participant’ buses will be finished; during the construction process, it will be used by heavy construction machinery.
“Up to now, approximately 95% out of the foundation structure construction works are finished. Simultaneously, the load-bearing wall structures and columns are being formed, and the concreting works are being executed, which are planned to be finished by winter. The Mežaparks Great Bandstand’s reconstruction design differs from others by its huge area and the necessary road infrastructure works outside the bandstand fencing and, of course, by its tight deadlines. The second stage of construction will also be technically more complicated, where the bandstand building is planned to be renewed,” informed Oļegs Burovs, chairperson of the City property committee of the Riga Council.

“The Mežaparks Great Bandstand is the object of national significance, and 120-130 workers work every day there in order to ensure the successful implementation of the planned works both in the territory of the bandstand and next to it. Our goal is to make the maximum use out of the summer weather which is favourable to the construction works, in order to execute the works also qualitatively, despite the tight deadlines,” emphasised Valdis Koks, project director of general partnership “LNK, RERE”.

Design of the reconstruction of Mežaparks Great Bandstand is being developed in compliance to the local planning of the Culture and recreation park Mežaparks, approved by the Riga municipality in 2013. If the current area of the festival bandstand zone is 91,997 square metres, then in 2018 – after reconstruction – it will be extended to 146,430 square metres.

Costs of the first stage together with value added tax are 32 million euros. Out of that, 43% of the funds are foreseen for the audience area, 22% for the equipment of the audience area, 25% for the access roads and 10% for the external engineering networks.
On 20 April of this year, on the stage of the Mežaparks Great Bandstand, the agreement on the reconstruction of the bandstand was signed, prescribing the alignment of the audience zone and the bandstand for the XXVI General Latvian Song and XVI Dance Festival of 2018. Construction of the first stage of the bandstand is being carried out by the general partnership "LNK, RERE". It is planned that the reconstruction works of the first stage will be put in operation on 18 June 2018.