SIA Binders 2022
The year 2022 was difficult and full of various challenges both for the road construction company SIA Binders and also for the entire road construction industry of Latvia in general. It was significantly influenced by the geopolitical situation in Europe after the military invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
The biggest problems in 2022: shortage of building materials and raw materials needed for asphalt production, dramatic rise in energy prices. The total construction costs became higher to such extent that the fulfilment of the contractual obligations concluded before 24 February 2022 was at risk.
Together with the largest infrastructure construction clients, we managed to solve the problems to such extent that the builders were able to start and continue work at the sites.
In 2022, the road construction company Binders also implemented road construction and external engineering network construction projects in almost all regions of Latvia.
The key implemented projects during the reporting period.
The construction of the Rail Baltica infrastructure continued at the Riga International Airport, where Binders works in the composition of the association of persons B.S.L. Infra. It includes the Austrian company Swietelsky AG and construction companies of Latvia – SIA Binders and AS LNK Industries.
Last year, a large amount of work was completed at the construction site of the Ķekava Bypass, where the work was started at the end of 2021, and should be completed at the end of 2023.
The construction of the Ķekava Bypass is the first ambitious public-private partnership project in road construction in the Baltic states, which is implemented according to the Designe-Build-Finance and Maintain model.
The client of the project is VSIA Latvijas Valsts ceļi. The contract for the construction of the Ķekava Bypass was concluded with the association of persons Kekava ABT, which also includes SIA Binders.
During the past construction season, the road construction works in Turaida, which ended in autumn, were particularly difficult. The reconstruction of the regional P8 highway, a little more than 4 km long, from Turaida to Sigulda was completed. The road surface has been rebuilt in the entire section and a lighted sidewalk has been built on the slopes of Turaida and Sigulda, thus the road between Turaida and Sigulda has become more comfortable and safer for both pedestrians and drivers.
In 2022, the construction works of the Sarkandaugava overpass in Riga were completed. The purpose of the construction of the overpass was to organise the street network in the territory of the capital, which receives the main transit flow on the route from Brīvības Street to Viestura prospekts to the Port of Riga.
The construction of the overpass in Sarkandaugava was carried out by the association of persons OTC, combining the constructors of SIA Binders, AS LNK Industries and LT Betons.
Last year, Binders renewed the surface and safety equipment of the Biķernieki Race Track. In July, a new asphalt concrete surface in the area of 10,000 m2 was laid in the areas intended for the renewal of the track. In accordance with the specific requirements of the race track, the surface must be seamless, so the new surface was laid simultaneously by four asphalt pavers.
In 2022, Binders restored the surfaces of several regional roads in Vidzeme and Latgale. For example, the asphalt concrete surface was renewed on a four-kilometre section on the P10 Inčukalns – Ropaži – Ikškile regional road. A new layer of asphalt concrete has also been laid on the six-kilometre long section of the local highway V58 Sigulda – Allaži – Ausmas from Stīveri to Allaži and on certain sections of the Ainaži-Matīši regional highway.
Last year, a significant amount of work was also done in the construction of external engineering networks. The construction of water pipes and sewerage networks was completed in Berģi and Jūrmala. The quality of water supply and sewerage services has been developed and improved, providing citizens with the possibility of connecting to centralised systems.
The implementation of several new large-scale construction projects was started last year. In August, the long-awaited reconstruction works of the Vidzeme highway (A2) began in the section from the Sēnītes traffic junction to Sigulda. It is planned that the construction works will be completed in the autumn of 2023.
In addition, reconstruction of the tram tracks was started in some sections, in the centre of Riga. All underground engineering communications are being changed in the construction area. After that, a new track structure will be built in the relevant sections of the tram tracks, and the stops will be modified in accordance with the environmental accessibility requirements.
In 2022, an impressive amount of work was also completed in other structural units of the company.
Last year, 182,564 tons of asphalt were produced at the Binders asphalt concrete plant in Vangaži, which is the largest amount of production there so far.
SIA Binders asphalt concrete plant in Daugavpils produced 39,269 tons of asphalt last year. Thus, the total volume of asphalt produced last year at both the Vangaži and Daugavpils production plants is 221,833 tons. In order to deliver such volume to the sites, during the season, about 10,000 trucks are filled with the produced asphalt!
A large amount of work was also completed last year in the road construction materials testing laboratory, which is located in Vangaži, but the branch works in Daugavpils. In total, almost 15 tons of asphalt samples were tested there. Of these, nine tons are already produced asphalt production, and six tons are milled asphalt. So far, the reusable material in such volume has not been tested in the laboratory.
The laboratory for testing road building materials also checks the quality of already laid asphalt. Samples for testing are obtained at the construction sites in all regions of Latvia. Estimates show that the road transport of the laboratory travelled a total of 35,300 km on trips to the sites last year. This distance equals 156 trips on the Riga – Daugavpils route.