"We are drawing up a serious project to be able to build the port from the ground up. This includes building a breakwater and quays, deepening the inner water area and building parking lots. Construction should be done in six phases," Algimantas Kungys, the head of the Development Department at the Klaipėda seaport authority, told BNS.
Plans call for building engineering networks and a 450-car parking lot, and deepening the port to seven meters and to 4 meters at mooring sites. The depth of the port's entrance channel currently is up to 1.5 meters, the official said.
He said that construction work is expected to start in 2015 after receiving EU funding and to be completed in 2017.
The construction of the port is preliminary estimated to cost around 183 million litas. The port will be able to accommodate ships with a capacity of up to 1,350 tons, such as small cruise vessels, fishing boats and yachts.
The port is some six kilometers south of the Latvian border.
