As if there were not enough problems in the world apart from the war in Ukraine… This time there are reports from the Polish-Belarusian border. According to the spokeswoman of the Border Guard, Lieutenant Anna Michalska, the Belarusian authorities are trying to obstruct the construction of a border dam. Several machines threw stones and caused damages amounting to PLN 30,000. Last night, part of the border barrier was damaged.
The dam on the border with Belarus should be finished by the end of June. A BG spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the work was proceeding according to plan. The contractors say they will be ready on time. However, since March there have been incidents that show that the Belarusian authorities are trying to obstruct the construction.
“Today night the components of the barrier in Cheremsche were destroyed,” stressed Lieutenant Michalska. The so-called baskets in the foundation piles, in which the barrier columns are inserted, have been bent.
Recently, construction machinery has also been destroyed. They were thrown with stones and had, among other things, broken windows and dents.
“These are not pebbles that were found in the forest, but elements of granite paving stones,” said the SG spokeswoman.
“The damage to the construction machinery was estimated at PLN 30,000. It wasn’t just an event. There were several of them,” stressed the lieutenant. The costs of repairing the machinery shall be borne by the contractors.
When asked who destroyed the machines and parts of the barrier, she replied that the incidents had taken place at night, so it had not always been possible to see the perpetrators.
“Probably those were the Belarusian services,” she said.
“This shows that the Belarusian services actually see this as a permanent obstacle. They expect this to be a sensible attempt to stop illegal migration, hence these obstacles,” judged Lieutenant Michalska.
The BG spokesperson assured us that none of the incidents had affected the pace of the work.
“The damage was not such that the work was hindered in any way. There were new types of equipment, new machines and damaged parts were repaired,” she explained.
Asked about the progress of the work, she explained that the dam would be built in several or even dozens of sections and that the work would last into the late evening hours, even on Sunday.
“We have installed more than 2,600 spans, 6,000 columns and more than 10,000 piles,” stressed the BG spokeswoman.
In addition, 60 per cent of a technical road has already been built at the border, with which BG will control the dam and respond to signals emanating from the electronic barrier. The number of construction crews was also increased.
Lieutenant Michalska announced that construction of the electronic barrier, for which the BG had signed a contract last Thursday, would begin shortly. Before this happens, some steps of building up the physical barrier must be completed.
The barrier will be 186 km long and be 5.5 meters high. The electronic barrier – i.e., devices such as motion sensors and cameras – will be longer. It will cover 202 km of the border including the border waters. The total cost of the investment is approximately PLN 1,6 billion.