Renovated streets, reconstructed bridges, and updated schools and kindergartens are becoming a noticeable part of Riga's urban environment. However, behind many of these projects lie financial obligations, the payments for which have been deferred to the future, writes LETA, citing nra.lv. According to the Central Administration of the Riga City Council, the total amount of the municipality's principal loans is 612.2 million euros. Of this amount, 80.2 million euros is the debt for which the repayment of the principal has not yet begun. Thus, more than one-tenth of all borrowing obligations of the capital are currently in a deferred payment mode. The municipality emphasizes that this practice is part of the financial planning for large projects. The start dates for repayments are tied to the progress of specific projects. This means that the city first builds or reconstructs the object, and the repayment of the principal loan begins after the work is completed. According to council representatives, when making decisions, it is assessed how well the deferral period aligns with the construction schedule. This approach allows for not starting payments on objects that have not yet been put into operation. For residents, this means that many projects that the city is already utilizing today will be paid for from budgets in subsequent years. Such a mechanism is particularly relevant for large infrastructure projects, the implementation of which takes several years. At the same time, for relatively small projects, the deferral periods are significantly shorter. For example, in the case of school infrastructure repairs, the deferred payment period usually does not exceed one year. The use of deferred payments is widely applied by municipalities and states when implementing capital-intensive projects. However, this approach simultaneously increases the volume of obligations that future budgets will have to service. Therefore, the question of how actively the city can continue to finance new projects through borrowing remains one of the important elements of the capital's long-term budget policy.