Estonia to close Narva-Ivangorod pedestrian border bridge by the end of November

Text Mark Taylor
Photo Andrei Chertkov

The Ministry of the Interior has announced that the Narva-2 border checkpoint and pedestrian bridge linking Narva with the Russian town of Ivangorod will be closed in the final week of November. This is because the number of people using the secondary border crossing has become so low that it is no longer reasonable to keep it open.

“After a thorough analysis, the Ministry of the Interior has decided to close the pedestrian bridge connecting Narva with Ivangorod,” Vootele Päi, an adviser to the Minister of the Interior, told ERR on Wednesday.

Päi went on to state that the closing of the bridge was not for security reasons because it is only people with residence permits and citizens using the crossing.

“First of all, we will begin preparing for the possibility of fully automating the bridge in the future. The number of people currently crossing the border has likewise fallen so much that it’s pointless to continue operating several border checkpoints. People can make their trips via the main border checkpoint too, and the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) will be able to more effectively implement the Narva-2 border checkpoint’s human resources elsewhere,” Päi added.

Estonia plans to close the Narva-2 border checkpoint and bridge during the last week of November.

Source ERR 

To learn more about this and similar topics
Border Checkpoint Crossing the Border Ivangorod Ministry of the Interior Narva Narva-2 Border Police and Border Guard Board Vootele Päi