RIGA, April 10 (LETA) - The Finance and Administration Committee of Riga City Council today decided to allocate EUR 1.98 million for the construction of a memorial to the victims of Zolitudes supermarket roof collapse.

Riga City Council's External Communications Department informed LETA that a call for bids for the construction of the memorial, which was repeatedly announced in March, was closed. Four bids were submitted, and the contract will be awarded to the lowest bidder.

According to the Electronic Procurement System, bids were submitted by companies Asfaltbuve, Baltic Construction Company (BCC), 3A, and Aidaco Construction.

The lowest bid was submitted by 3A, which offered to build the memorial for EUR 1.6 million, without value added tax.

According to the municipality, if the decision to award the contract to 3A is not contested, the contract will be signed on April 23. The construction works could start in the second half of May and will be completed in May 2026.

Dismantling of an underground parking lot at the site where the Garden of Remembrance will be built has been completed.

The design of the Garden of Remembrance has been developed with respect for the vision and wishes of association Zolitude 21.11 by ALPS Landscape Workshop, design studio H2E and consultancy agency Copywriter/Levelup.

As reported, 54 people died and several dozen were injured as a Maxima supermarket in Riga's Zolitude neighborhood collapsed on November 21, 2013. Construction experts have concluded that the tragedy occurred as a result of wrongly calculated maximum loads for the roof of the building.