On March 31, 2009 the Rīga City Council approved the final version of the Andrejsala detailed  plan, issued the binding regulations of land use and construction in Andrejsala, and defined a moratorium on construction in the south end of Andrejsala (the Council decision was published by the State’s official newspaper Latvijas Vēstnesis on April 15, 2009). The approval of the detailed plan by the City Council was a necessary precondition for commencing new construction in Andrejsala.

The Objective

The objective of the detailed plan was to define the rules of land use and construction in Andrejsala as well as the structure and composition principles of the planned construction in order to set up an original multifunctional territory comprising business, service, residential, recreational and public facilities (e.g., museum complex, concert hall) with high quality public outdoor spaces by means of utilising the valuable cultural heritage, aquatorium and waterfront both in the historic centre of Rīga and the developable area. It is envisaged that Andrejsala will make a substantial addition to the tourism attraction and business function that currently pertains to the historic centre of Rīga and the old town.    

The process of developing the detailed plan took place on the basis of two decrees by the Rīga City Council: Decision No 3302 of the 6th of July 2004 'On the commencement of detailed planning for Andrejsala' and Decision No 928 on the 7th of March 2006, which stipulated the borders of the developable territory and clarified the tasks relevant to the detailed planning process (according to the original decision, the developable area also contained the Eksporta area of the port).

Public discussion of the first draft of Andrejsala’s detailed plan on June 15, 2007.

On August 12, 2008 the Rīga City Council’s Committee for Traffic and Transport Issues supported the view that a moratorium on construction in Andrejsala’s south end be defined until preliminary research works regarding the Hanza crossing over the Daugava are completed. It was with this condition that the Committee accepted the final version of the Andrejsala detailed plan and the regulations of land use and construction. Subsequently, on August 27, 2008 the final version of the detailed plan and the construction regulations gained official support of the Rīga City Council’s Development Committee.