BaltCap’s school revitalisation project awarded by United Nations

A public-private partnership project of school revitalisation, implemented by BaltCap Infrastructure Fund, received a special commendation at the 7th edition of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) International PPP Forum in Athens, Greece. The international jury awarded the project for its environmental sustainability, resilience and replicability.

BaltCap Infrastructure Fund and Kaunas District Municipality signed the 15-year public-private partnership (PPP) agreement to upgrade education infrastructure in the towns of Mastaičiai, Kačerginė and Zapyškis in 2020. BaltCap committed to investing €13.6 million to revitalise two existing schools, a swimming pool and construct a new school building and sports facilities. Construction of the buildings and related facilities was successfully completed in December2022.

“The decisions we make at the design stage will impact the environment throughout the asset lifetime. We are extremely proud to stick to our core value of no compromise when it comes to sustainability and to be recognized by the United Nations for this effort during this very challenging economic cycle. We also noticed that this project became an inspiring example for others to act on much-needed change in terms of access to quality education and climate change mitigation”, commented Šarūnas Stepukonis, partner at BaltCap Infrastructure Fund.

“Implementing the Sustainable Development, the new game, and working to achieve the SDGs implies having PPPs as key players of this new game. Evidence that this is possible, and the impact goes beyond expectations is of primary importance for the UN ecosystem. The Lithuanian PPP project, BaltCap´s school revitalisation, is a great example for all of us, and we expect to see it scaled up and replicated around the world”, stated Prof. Pedro Mateus das Neves, PhD, United Nations Advisor & Consultant on SDGs Implementation.

“It is very important that the Kaunas district municipality project is replicable – the success story of the school reconstruction project inspired three more municipalities to initiate PPP projects to increase the energy class of the buildings”, said Ieva Dženkauskaitė, an expert at CPMA.

The project provides a modern educational environment and additional access to education for 540 pupils in Kaunas district and allows local schoolchildren to avoid daily commuting to faraway schools.

In 2019, BaltCap Infrastructure Fund invested €11 million in a 7,500m2 greenfield private school project in Vilnius, Lithuania and €4.1 million to renovate two schools and sports and culture centre in Mielno, Poland. A €8 million greenfield school project in Vilnius is due to be completed in Q4 2023.