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The idea of building a lock was announced in the spring by the mayor of Kaunas, Visvaldas Matijošaitis, and a memorandum signed on October 1 on the Nemunas boat surrounded by the waves of the Kaunas lagoon suggests that the idea did not fall into a drawer. .
The document was signed by the Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis, the Director General of the Directorate of Inland Waterways of State Enterprises Vladimir Vinokurov, the Mayor of Kaunas V. Matijošaitis, the representatives of the company Lietuvos Geležinkeliai, as well as the Ministries of Environment and Energy.
According to Minister M.Skuodis, the discussion on the construction of the lock started at the same time, because the railway line “Rail Baltica” and the south-eastern ring road of Kaunas will soon be built over the hydroelectric power station.
“There will be a large construction going on, so maybe a lock and a fish gate can be installed at the same time. We should first assess what can be done,” said M. Skodis.
He has no doubt that the need for the lock will become apparent in the future, when the Nemunas section from Kaunas to the Curonian Lagoon is adapted for shipping. Bunlos are currently being built, which will open up opportunities to make better use of this waterway.
Although only about 50 bunks were installed, ten times less than planned, the rivers have already felt the benefits. The current of the Nemunas accelerated, the required depths of water were formed.
The 20-meter-high dam in the Nemunas near Kaunas appears to be split in half and has become an obstacle to an integrated shipping route and fish migration.
The installation of a lock of just over 20 meters would contribute to the revitalization of the river, connecting the entire section of the Nemunas, which is almost 500 kilometers long in Lithuania and along the border sections with Belarus and the Kaliningrad region (Russia). This would open opportunities for continuous navigation on Lithuania’s largest river from Druskininkai through Kaunas to the Curonian Lagoon.
In addition, the old waterway would be opened through Belarus to Poland. There, the Augustów Canal, which connects the Nemunas and Vistula river basins, stretches for more than 100 kilometers in scenic areas.
A lock at a hydroelectric plant is not a completely new idea. It was marked in the general plan of the city of Kaunas, and previously it was also planned in the construction project of the hydroelectric power station, but this solution remained unimplemented and the bedrock was poured in its place.
“Technically installing the lock would not be difficult, but economically the project would not be profitable. We just wouldn’t have enough load, “says Petras Punys, a professor in the Department of Water Engineering at the Vytautas Magnus University Academy of Agriculture.
About three decades ago, he conducted a study with colleagues from the UK and found that building the lock would pay off if 4 cargo ships passed through it per day.
“To develop shipping, the Nemunas must be free, there can be no obstacles, both physical and political,” said P. Punys. At the moment, it is not even worth talking about free movement between Belarus and Lithuania.
Although the train tracks run across the top of the hydroelectric plant, this circumstance would not hinder the construction of the lock, since modern technologies allow excavation under the rails. According to P. Punis, the lock can be built in a year and a half.
“I may be wrong about the price of the works, more information is needed, but at least 30 million would be needed. Professor P. Punys spoke.
According to V. Vokokurov, locks recently built in Europe cost between 40 and 70 million. euros.
The mayor of Kaunas, V. Matijošaitis, confirmed that the municipality will pay for the preparation of the project, but the construction of the lock should be financed by the government, as it would be too heavy a burden for the municipality.
