MERKO projects won 2 awards in the competition ‘For Sustainable Development’
Kaunas District Chief Police Commissariat building 
‘For Sustainable Development competition’ awards 
Neringa hotel and restaurant
The best real estate projects in Lithuania for 2022 were announced and awarded at the ceremony. The Lithuanian Real Estate Development Association (LNTPA) and the Sustainable Development Academy have been organising the ‘For Sustainable Development competition’ for 15 years.
In the ‘For Sustainable Development’ competition, Kaunas District Chief Police Commissariat building was recognized as the best public sector project in Lithuania. Neringa hotel and restaurant, where Merko became a general contractor for the reconstruction of the historic complex, was awarded as the best commercial project in Lithuania.
Kaunas District Chief Police Commissariat building, built by the company, is the first A++ class energy-efficient administrative building in Lithuania, and almost all the energy needed for its operation comes from renewable sources. A solar power plant with a capacity of more than 300 kilowatts (kW) has been installed on the roofs of the administrative, storage and carport buildings, which will generate enough energy to fully operate the buildings. A geothermal plant is also installed to heat and cool the buildings.
The new building is not only modern, but also offers significant savings in running costs. In addition, the management of the building’s engineering systems is fully automated and connected to the overall building management system, which can automatically change the ventilation and air conditioning parameters and the lighting of workplaces.
Mindaugas Statulevičius, Head of the LNTPA and Chairman of the For Sustainable Development Competition Commission, while evaluating the projects participating in this year’s competition, expressed his satisfaction that competitive progress and the necessity of sustainable development are becoming a daily routine for many Lithuanian property developers: “The qualitative challenges that developers are posing to themselves, and the successful implementation of these challenges are encouraging. It remains to be hoped that these trends will only gain further momentum in the context of sustainable real estate development”, says the LNTPA President.
The contestants were evaluated by a 9-member jury comprising of representatives from the Lithuanian Builders Association, banks, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, the Ministry of the Environment, Vilnius City Municipality, the Lithuanian Real Estate Development Association and the media.