New Territorial Administration

Last year Kaunas City Council approved the division of its territory into neighborhoods as the lowest self-government chains. It is considered that after the realization of this program it will be easier to receive funding from European funds for the creation of inhabitant well-being. The Government would receive more comprehensive and detailed information about issues that make life difficult for inhabitants and can take all measures to make Kaunas a convenient and safe place to live in.

The territory of Kaunas City Municipality is 157,15 km² with 60,75 percent covered by buildings and the population of 381,3 thousand. It is the only city in the entire eastern zone of the Baltic Sea situated on the crossroads of two international transport corridors.

This year the municipality started the implementation of a new project - the reconstruction of a public transport system to make it more ecological. This initiative is apart of international public transport reorganization project supported by the European Commission, allowing the creation of a modern passenger transportation system that corresponds to European standards.

It is foreseen to build the railway gauge of European standards between the two biggest Lithuanian cities allowing the speed of trains of 160 km/h. It is considered that Kaunas becomes a promising logistics center where cargo flows from the North to the South and from the East to the West will collide. The establishment of Kaunas Free Economic zone at Karmelava Airport will offer businessmen and investors favorable conditions for their activities in the territory of one thousand hectares.

Kaunas is a city of information society and electronic self-government with 80 sound companies of technological-innovative profile and a new program - e-Municipality with "Interactive Map of Kaunas Investments".

Kaunas is an attractive city for tourism development. It is one of 1309 European cities participating in the international event during which inhabitants use public or ecologically clean transport and improve environment status. It is planned to complete biological water treatment plant in 2005. After implementation of this investment project the pollution of open water basins in the city will be diminished to the level corresponding to the requirements of Helsinki Commission.