In a letter dated December 6, 2020 and addressed to the CEOs, the chair of the board and the corporate responsibility director of Rimi Baltic and ICA Gruppen, the residents of Pavilnys acknowledge the values and standards nurtured by the Swedish company but also express their concerns over the strategic partnership between UAB Rimi Lietuva and the real estate consultant and developer Darius Nedzinskas.
The main issue highlighted by the community representatives stems from the plan to build a 2,310 square meter shopping centre within the 7,700 square metre area (cad. nr. 0101/0157:217), yet according to the general plan of Vilnius city, which is due to come into force within the next few weeks in (2021), only a 500 square metre building would be allowed. Also, the residents are concerned that the project has not undergone the independent impact evaluation, nor has there been a discussion on the project with the public.
The combination of these circumstances raises suspicions among the Pavilnys’ residents that the practices used in the rushed implementation of the project could at the very least be in conflict with the business ethics policy of ICA Gruppen.
“Our community is looking forward to having a Rimi supermarket in the neighbourhood. But we also expect these projects to be implemented according to the highest standards. We are aware that ICA Gruppen and Rimi Baltic are capable of meeting these standards,” the community members indicate in the letter. Alongside it, more than ten public questions are also included.
“Can you publicly confirm that ICA Gruppen did not, directly or indirectly, exert undue influence on the relevant services in Vilnius? Can you publicly confirm that in both this particular situation and in any other cases involving you, Mr Darius Nedzinskas did not, directly or indirectly, exert undue influence in Lithuania for the benefit of Rimi Baltic or ICA Gruppen?” the community representatives ask.
The letter also highlights the stalling development project for Rimi in Trakai bus station, which the community believes also raises various questions. On the other hand, the letter also uses the IKI shopping centre developed by UAB Palink in Vilnius’ Balsiai area as an example of harmonious development and sustainable neighbourhood.
“We would like to stress that we are not against a shopping centre with adequate infrastructure, which takes into account residents and the environment and which is based on a transparent decision making and is discussion-led. However, in this particular situation, we are surprised by both the vast size of the planned shopping centre and by the rushed and questionable means of developing this project. We believe that the shareholder leadership of Rimi Lietuva will be genuinely interested in the ethics, transparency and the sustainable development standards they declare and we will be able to resume our dialogue,” the representatives of the Žalių Kalnų and Džiaugsmas street community say.
The community living near the development have recently created a Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/stoprimi). They have also gathered 164 signatures and submitted inquiries to the Vilnius city municipality about the situation.
More information: Arkadij Blumin, community spokesman, arkadij.bliumin@gmail.com, +370 659 00 060
