At a formal ceremony held on Friday, 10 February in Valmiera, the foundation stone for a pair of new rental buildings was laid down in the presence of the Republic of Latvia’s Minister for Economics Arvils Ašeradens.

Embedded in the foundation stone was a capsule into which City of Valmiera Council Chairman Jānis Baiks inserted a copy of the 10 February edition of Liesma along with the latest edition of the council’s newsletter Valmiera domā un rada (Valmiera Thinks and Creates), containing various statistical information about the past year in Valmiera, including an overview of the construction processes that took place in the city during 2016 and information about Valmiera’s budget for 2017. Also inserted into the capsule was a EUR 2 coin bearing the image of stork weaving its nest. In Latvia, the stork is renowned as a bird that blesses the home, symbolising a long life and trust. To underline the unique nature of the project in contemporary Latvia, and in an expression of hope in regard to its contribution to the development of Valmiera, a special message for future generations was also inserted into the capsule.

SIA “Valmieras Namsaimnieks” Chairman of the Board Valdis Jēgers added, “On 27 September 2016, a contract was signed with SIA “MONUM” for the construction of two rental buildings that will contain a total of 150 apartments including 15 one-room apartments, 90 two-room apartments and 45 three-room apartments. This will be small and simple apartments that will give people a chance to start their life in Valmiera and provide them with a platform from which to make the next step of moving to a bigger and more comfortable home. Construction work must be completed in an 18 month period from the time of the signing of the contract. However, in reality, it is possible that construction could be complete by the end of this year, because a significant amount of time has been saved during the design process.”

According to SIA “MONUM” Technical Director Aļģirds Pipars, “Our company is honoured to be able to take part in this project that will improve the welfare of the residents of Valmiera. This is an important step in the city’s development. We developed the construction project in just under three months which is not long at all. In December, earth works will begin, while monolithic concrete is already being laid. Parallel to this, prefabricated reinforced concrete structures are being manufactured in the factory. I hope that in a year’s time, a light will be burning in the window of every apartment. I hope that the new residents will be very happy living here.”

“Both rental buildings will be built at the same time. Currently, work is under way on the construction of the foundations of the two-block building, while the process of soil replacement and reinforcement under the foundation plates has begun for the three-block building. The need for these unplanned jobs arose when the soil was uncovered and an additional geotechnical study was conducted during which it was ascertained that the existing soil is unsuitable for the implementation of the planned project. In early March, we plan to begin assembling reinforced concrete structures, which will be done using prefabricated reinforced concrete structures, made in Latvia and tested under Scandinavian climatic conditions,” said SIA “MONUM” Project Manager Kaspars Brencis explaining the nature of the planned work.