Vilnius, Oct 8 (IANS): LTG Infra, the infrastructure subsidiary of Lithuanian Railways (LTG), has launched a procurement process worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.27 billion) for the construction of Rail Baltica infrastructure.

The railway links the city of Kaunas in south-central Lithuania and the country's border with Latvia, Lithuania's Ministry of Transport has said.

The winner will build a new railway embankment, engineering structures and access roads, Xinhua news agency reported.

The EU is expected to finance around 85 per cent of the cost, with the rest to come from the national budget.

The section has received 257 million euros in EU funding. In July, the European Commission approved a further 360 million euros for the construction of Rail Baltica in the Baltic countries.

Rail Baltica's fast rail service will connect Tallinn, Parnu, Riga, Panevezys, Kaunas, Vilnius and Warsaw by 2026. The total length of the railway line in the Baltic states will be 870 km.