Lithuanian government and the city of Vilnius have teamed up to finish the deteriorating construction of the country’s national stadium. They still need a third partner to get going, though.

The Vilnius national stadium plan is notorious for the failed attempts to finally be opened. Construction began back in 1987 and is still far from completion despite three efforts to deliver it (1987, 2007, 2013).

New solution to this never-ending saga might be found in PPP, or public-private partnership. City of Vilnius and the Lithuanian government are the public partners, now they need to strike a deal with private partners. Reportedly there are 9 companies interested in taking up the challenge.

The partnership would run in “French model”, which means the private partner can count on financial support of the public counterparts. In return it has to build the stadium (3 years including updating the documentation) and then operate it for further 22 years. After that period the venue would be transferred to the Vilnius municipality.

If all proceedings go smoothly, works might be launched next year. This makes opening possible in 2019, stunning 32 years since groundbreaking! The PPP project’s value is estimated at €79 million ($85m), some of which might be covered by EU funding.