RIGA, Dec 9 (LETA) - The Riga municipality should obtain a stable majority stake in the municipal heating company Rigas Siltums (RS), said Viesturs Kleinbergs (Progressives), Chairman of the Riga City Council, in an interview on Latvian Television this morning.

Currently, the Riga municipality owns 49 percent of the company's capital, 48.99 percent - the Latvian state, 2 percent - Energijas Risinajumi. RIX Ltd, and Latvenergo owns 0.005 percent of the shares.

Kleinbergs believes that the current rather fragmented ownership structure hinders effective decision-making in the company, so the municipality will talk to the Economics Ministry as the state shareholder to ensure that one of the two large owners gets a stable majority in RS. Kleinbergs believes that Riga should get this majority.

Speaking about Riga's budget plans for next year, Kleinbergs said that in general, no sector will have as much money as it would like, so in all areas extra money will only come with restructuring and efficiency improvements.

Riga plans to approve its municipal budget for 2026 on January 21. Coalition partners are currently continuing work on next year's budget, and for example today there will be a discussion on investment projects.

As reported, the Riga municipality's total revenue this year was planned at EUR 1.47 billion, EUR 50 million more than in 2024. Expenditure, on the other hand, is expected to amount to EUR 1.694 billion.