The Swedish construction company Skanska has sold its operations in Latvia as part of a move to leave what its board of directors has called a “peripheral” market.

Skanska announced Aug. 15 that its Latvian division, Skanska Konstrukcija SIA, has been purchased by Panevezio Keliai AB, a Lithuanian construction company that also bought Skanska’s operations in Lithuania. The Rīga-based Skanska Konstrukcija, which has 29 employees, reported sales of EUR 2.3 million in 2002, according to Skanska.

The sale is the result of a strategic review announced early this year. Skanska’s board wants the company to refocus its efforts in markets in which it is a major player. Latvia, Lithuania and Hungary were deemed “peripheral” markets for Skanska.

In Latvia, Skanska’s best-known construction project was Valdemāra Centrs, an 8,300-square-meter Class A office and retail development in downtown Rīga completed in 1998 for about USD 20 million in a joint venture with the Rīga City Council. During the summer, the project was sold to Marr Estates B.V., a firm registered in Holland, for about USD 13 million.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which helped finance the project, at one point termed Valdemāra Centrs the “first international-standard business centre in the Baltics.”

Skanska also has sold two residential properties, with a total of 48 apartments, to local Latvian investors for USD 6.08 million.

“Through these transactions, we are following our strategy and exiting the Latvian market,” Fredrik Wirdenius, president of Skanska Project Development Europe, said in a press release from the company. “At the same time, the sales enable a continued focus on commercial project development in our selected Central European markets – Prague, Budapest and Warsaw.”

Skanska was involved with a number of other projects in Latvia, including the Stockholm School of Economics and Astrīdes House.

A new ambassador to the European Union has been named by Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, according to the president’s press office in Rīga.

Andris Ķesteris takes over from Andris Piebalgs. Ķesteris previously served as deputy state secretary in the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also a head of the Latvian delegation to EU.

In an Aug. 14 meeting during which the new ambassador was accredited, the president and Ķesteris stressed the need for Latvian political leaders to consolidate pro-EU efforts before the Sept. 20 referendum on joining the European Union.

The ambassador is stationed in Brussels, headquarters for the EU.

The deadline for Latvian citizens abroad to apply for absentee ballots to vote in the referendum on whether to join the European Union is Aug. 22. The referendum is scheduled Sept. 20.

If the referendum is approved, Latvia would join the EU in May. But recent opinion polls in Latvia continue to show decreasing support for EU membership.

In the United States, where the greatest number of Latvian citizens abroad is found, absentee ballots may be requested from the Embassy of Latvia, 4325 17th Street N.W., Washington, DC 20011.

To apply for an absentee ballot, citizens must submit a request containing their name, address and personal code. The request must be accompanied by the person’s Latvian passport or registration issued by the Latvian Citizenship and Immigration Department.

Further information about the balloting process in the United States is available from the embassy’s Web site.

Latvian citizens in the United States wishing to vote in person may do so on Sept. 20 at either the embassy in Washington or at the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Latvia to the United Nations, 333 E. 50th St., New York, N.Y.

During its annual congress in May, the American Latvian Association adopted a resolution supporting Latvia’s membership in the EU. Leaders of the Latvian National Association in Canada also have expressed their support for EU membership.

In Canada, absentee ballots may be requested from the Latvian Embassy, 280 Albert St., Suite 300, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G8.

Latvian citizens in the United Kingdom may request absentee ballots from the Latvian Embassy, 45 Nottingham Place, London W1U 5LY.

In Australia, absentee ballot requests should be sent to Honorary Consul I. Dimits, c/o Latvian Australian Credit Coop. Ltd., Level 8, 313 Little Collins St., Melbourne, Vic. 3000.

In all, 38 polling places have been established abroad in 29 countries.

General information on the referendum—including details on other polling places—is available from the Web site of the Latvian Central Elections Commission.