A 4.1 million-euro regional electronic ticketing system launched for public transport in northern Lithuania has been plagued by technical problems and delays, putting millions of euros in European Union funding at risk.
The project, covering the city of Šiauliai and the neighbouring Šiauliai and Radviliškis districts, was due to be completed by the end of April but has already received two deadline extensions. The latest runs until July 15, while the absolute deadline for EU-funded completion is July 31.
The system, administered by the Šiauliai City Municipality and financed largely through the EU’s Next Generation Lithuania program, received 3.42 million euros from EU funds and 640,000 euros from the state budget. Municipalities are responsible only for administrative costs.
The Central Project Management Agency (CPVA), which oversees EU-funded projects, warned that the project faces a serious risk of losing its European funding if the contractor fails to fix the remaining defects.
“If the supplier fails to correct the errors within the deadline, the funding will be lost,” CPVA spokesperson Asta Ribokė said.
