Author: Economics and Procurement Department
Ventspils State City Municipality City Council has approved binding regulations on support for covering the rent of business premises. The regulations provide for the continuation of existing support for covering office rent in the high-technology sector, as well as a new support scheme for covering premises rent for organisers of entertainment and artistic events in the historic centre of Ventspils.

Author: Economics and Procurement Department
 
Ventspils State City Municipality has announced a competition for the renovation or reconstruction of buildings with the aim of creating rental apartments in Ventspils.
Project submission deadline: from 16 February 2026 to 15 August 2026 (inclusive).
Subject of the competition: Co-financing for the renovation or reconstruction of buildings in order to create rental apartments within the administrative territory of Ventspils.
Co-financing: Up to EUR 300,000 will be granted to the winner of the competition for the implementation of the supported project.

Ventspils State City Municipality offers for lease an industrial territory with a total area of 77.5 hectares located at Kurzemes Street 83 in Ventspils (cadastral No. 27000330118).
Ventspils Industrial Park is a territory designated by the municipality and available to investors for starting and developing business activities. Companies operating in this area are granted the status of the Ventspils Freeport Authority Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which provides various advantages aimed at increasing business competitiveness.
The territory offers land plots of different sizes. A solar panel park of approximately 30 ha (around 30 MW) is planned in the area. Technical designs are also available for two production/warehouse buildings of 4,440 m² each.
The territory borders the European route E22 national highway.

Author: Marketing and Tourism Department
Ventspils Tourism Information Centre has released new tourism information materials – brochures and maps – introducing the city’s latest developments, most popular attractions, and major events in 2026.
The 2026 tourism brochure “Ventspils – A Family- and Leisure-Friendly City” is available in five languages: Latvian, English, Russian, Lithuanian, and German. Tourism maps present information in a traveller-friendly format and are available in Latvian, English, Russian, and Lithuanian.
The brochure offers an overview of Ventspils’ history, opportunities for active recreation, nature, wellness and health tourism, as well as cultural and entertainment offerings, and includes a calendar of the city’s major events in 2026.
The new materials also include a detailed city map marking key attractions, parking areas, public toilets, and cycling routes, the total length of which in Ventspils already exceeds 70 kilometres.
The brochure also highlights recent developments and projects from the past few years, including the long-awaited bike park opened in Reņķa Garden in spring 2025, the children’s active recreation centre “Sapņu Zeme” (Dream Land), the Kāpu Street promenade, and the new access to the sea at the Staldzene cliff.
Ventspils tourism information materials are distributed in Latvia and abroad, including at international tourism fairs, events, and city festivals in Latvia’s largest cities.

November 28, 2025.
Ventspils Science Center VIZIUM
10:00 AM – 5:00 PM

On November 28 of this year, the Kurzeme Business Forum “Baltic Defence Investment Pitch 2025” will take place at the Ventspils Science Centre “Vizium”. The event will focus on the development opportunities of the defence industry in Latvia and the Baltic States, as well as attracting investment to the sector.
The forum will be held from 10:00 to 17:00 and will consist of two thematic parts — discussions and presentations on Latvia’s readiness to host defence industry manufacturing, and an investment session titled “Defence Investment Pitch”, where companies will present their technological solutions to potential investors. The forum will be conducted in Latvian and English, and thanks to SIA “Tilde”’s artificial intelligence translation solution, simultaneous interpretation will be provided, making the event accessible to an international audience.

Author: Ventspils Freeport Authority

At the beginning of 2026, a new factory – a wet pet food production plant established by Pet Science Develop Ltd. – will start operations in the Ventspils Freeport. The total investment in the project exceeds 15 million euros. The plant will specialize in producing high-quality food for dogs and cats. The company has already begun recruiting employees.
The Ventspils Freeport Authority signed a lease agreement with Pet Science Develop Ltd. in 2024 for production premises at Kustes dambis 30a. The company has carried out extensive work in planning the production process and adapting the premises. Construction, equipment delivery, and installation are now in their final stages. The factory is scheduled to be commissioned in December, enabling the start of production at the beginning of 2026.
The total investment in the project exceeds 15 million euros. In the first stage, the planned production volume will be 10,000 tons per year. In the second stage, to be implemented in 2027, production capacity will be doubled to 20,000 tons.

Author: Ventspils Municipal Authority

To promote road safety and improve mobility in Latvian municipalities, the Ministry of Transport, within the framework of the competition “Road Safety Index 2024”, has identified the safest state cities and municipalities. Ventspils has won first place as the safest and most resident-friendly state city, as well as received an award for its contribution to improving accessibility within the municipality, ensuring a safe, convenient, and accessible environment for all road users.
This is the fourth year the “Road Safety Index 2024” competition has been held, with the aim of highlighting and promoting best practices in improving road safety, as well as raising awareness of road safety among both municipal officials and residents, thereby fostering gradual improvements in road safety across Latvian municipalities.
At the award ceremony, Ventspils was represented by Edgars Puriņš, Deputy Director of the company Ventspils Municipal Authority. He emphasized:
“The task of Ventspils Municipality is to create appropriate infrastructure and conditions that ensure the inclusion of every resident in the urban environment. We make sure that the city’s infrastructure is well-organized and adapted for everyone – pedestrians, cyclists, and people with mobility impairments. Special attention is paid to ensuring safe and accessible sidewalks, high-quality wheelchair ramps, and convenient solutions at intersections and public facilities.
Our goal is to make sure that every resident of Ventspils and every visitor feels included and can move freely regardless of age or physical ability. An accessible and safe urban environment is an important prerequisite for a high quality of life, and Ventspils is working towards this goal purposefully and in the long term.”
By continuing to improve traffic safety and road infrastructure development, Ventspils demonstrates its commitment to creating a safe, convenient, and modern urban environment for all road users.
The high recognition from the Ministry of Transport in the “Road Safety Index 2024” competition is proof of Ventspils’ consistent and goal-oriented work in developing accessible and safe infrastructure, aimed at improving the quality of life for both residents and visitors of the city.

Author: Freeport Authority
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The works have been completed, during which, on several street sections in Ventspils, old, worn-out sodium discharge lamp fixtures were replaced with modern, energy-saving LED fixtures, commissioned by the Ventspils Freeport Authority. In total, 154 fixtures were replaced across 11 street sections, significantly reducing electricity consumption and ensuring long-term savings.
 
The lighting elements were renewed in several parts of the city, including important access roads, parking lots, and streets with heavy traffic. The installation of the new fixtures was carried out gradually, replacing the old lights during daylight hours and immediately installing the new LED ones, which meant that electricity supply was not interrupted during the replacement process.
 
The new LED fixtures have up to six times lower nominal power, providing lower energy consumption and longer service life compared to the outdated lights. Thanks to their high efficiency, it is expected that overall annual electricity consumption may decrease by up to 73%. The modernization of the lighting also ensures brighter and safer streets for all Ventspils residents and visitors.
 
The street lighting elements were supplied by SIA “LUCIDUS”, while their replacement and the disposal of old fixtures were carried out by subcontractor SIA “Volts-1”.
 
The Ventspils Freeport Authority manages 54 streets or street sections in Ventspils, 5 bridges, and overpasses with a total length of more than 46 kilometers, as well as 15 parking lots covering an area of 35,000 square meters. Most of these infrastructure objects have been built or renewed at the request of the Ventspils Freeport Authority, also with the involvement of European Union funding.

​Author: Economics and Procurement Department
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On Thursday, August 28, the Ventspils City Municipality, in order to promote the attraction of qualified specialists and support the development of companies related to port operations, approved an amendment to the binding regulations No. 29 of December 19, 2024, “On the Procedure by which the Ventspils City Municipality Provides Assistance to Qualified Specialists in Securing Residential Premises.”
The amendment expands the range of sectors whose qualified specialists are eligible to receive municipal support in securing housing. Currently, specialists working in the following fields can apply for municipal housing: healthcare, education, science, research, sports, municipal services, culture, city administration, information and communication technologies, manufacturing sub-sectors (wood processing, mechanical engineering, metalworking, electronics, plastics production), public transport passenger services, public order and security, and social care. From now on, this support will also be available to specialists employed in the transport and storage sector.

Author: Marketing and Tourism Department

Ventspils Municipality continues to support local entrepreneurs and residents by addressing housing availability and promoting the attraction of qualified specialists. On Tuesday, August 12, a co-financing certificate was ceremoniously presented for the reconstruction of the building at Kuģinieku Street 7 in Ventspils. Within the framework of the project, 13 new energy-efficient rental apartments have been created.
 
The project developer, SIA “Kuģinieku 7”, received municipal support in the amount of EUR 99,900 to implement this important project, which improves access to quality housing in Ventspils.

During the event, the Ventspils City Municipality Council ceremoniously handed over the co-financing certificate to SIA “Kuģinieku 7.” Guests also had the opportunity to view one of the renovated apartments and hear the opinion of a tenant.

The support was provided within the competition “Building Renovation or Reconstruction for the Purpose of Creating Rental Apartments in Ventspils,” which was launched on January 4, 2023. This is the only initiative of its scale in Latvia, offering support of up to EUR 350/m², not exceeding EUR 200,000 per project.
Jānis Vītoliņš, Chairman of the Ventspils City Municipality Council:
“Our goal is to create a favorable environment for business while also caring for the quality of life of Ventspils residents. The first financing has successfully reached an entrepreneur who has invested in urban development and created new jobs in the construction sector.”