Archive of articles - February 2009, page 3
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Bratislava Airport gets new terminal
THE CHANGING number of people using Bratislava Airport has stirred discussion about how the new terminal there will satisfy the needs of passengers in terms of capacity as well as quality of services.
Moody’s rates Košice Region highly
THE KOŠICE Self-Governing Region (KSK) has become the first in Slovakia to receive a high ‘A3 with stable outlook’ rating. KSK Chairman Zdenko Trebuľa received the rating certificate from Peter Vinš, the general director of Moody’s Central Europe, on February 16, the SITA newswire reported.
Drawing cold comfort from dire economic straits
KOREAN carmaker Kia is having trouble hiring enough qualified workers to run its assembly lines in Slovakia, while PSA Peugeot-Citroen in Trnava has already hired workers from Romania and started scouring the countries of the Balkans for more: just a couple of news items from the first half of 2007 which might now seem slightly fantastical to crisis-affected readers.
Mood sours further as more crisis laws pass
THE GOVERNMENT is continuing to maintain its output of anti-crisis remedies intended to protect the country’s economy from the worst symptoms of the global economic slowdown. The state’s crisis council is meeting every week and rolling out lists of measures that its members believe might boost the economy and save jobs. Meanwhile, more and more companies are beginning to feel serious heat from the global economic downturn, and pressure is mounting on the government to find money to help them avoid massive layoffs .
Ski centres get livelier
FINALLY the time has come when I can really say that Slovakia has the winter weather typical for February. Snow is covering the whole area of the country and 60 cm of new snow has fallen in some places in the mountains. Strong, gusty winds, however, have blown the snow from the slopes in some places and created icy spots. The most ideal conditions are on tracks through the forests, where the wind is not so strong.
Town's gold mining history attracts Kremnica's skiers
VISITORS to Kremnica and its nearby ski resorts can also learn about the long history of gold mining in the town, even during the winter season.
Slovak film boom in Berlin
AFTER a promising first month of 2009, during which more Slovak movies premiered than during the whole of 2006, local cinematography continues to flourish.
State tightens its grip on gas reserves
THE STATE will now have tighter control of Slovakia’s gas reserves in times of crisis, in particular when the country faces being cut off from its normal gas supplies. To increase the state’s powers in the energy sector, the government of Robert Fico has modified the Energy Act, the legislation governing regulation of network industries, and also a mining law. Parliament passed the laws on February 17.
Big drop in real estate investment
INVESTMENT in real estate dropped by about 60 percent year-on-year in 2008. The overall volume of investment in three main sectors - office space, retail and industry-logistics - reached roughly €119 million last year, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield, a service provider in commercial real estate.
New anti-smoking law passed
THE SLOVAK Parliament approved on February 17 a watered down version of an amendment to the law on protection of non-smokers which will become effective on April 1. The amendment got the backing of 111 lawmakers in the 150-member parliament, the SITA newswire reported.
Institutions in transport segment in Slovakia
Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications of the Slovak RepublicNámestie Slobody Square 6P.O.BOX 100, 810 05 BratislavaThe Slovak RepublicTel.: +421 2/ 5949 4111Fax: +421 2/ 5249 479www.telecom.gov.sk
Market takes a cold shower
ALTHOUGH the market had been expecting a poorer performance from Slovakia’s economy than during the record-breaking final quarter of 2007, when GDP growth hit more than 14 percent, the figure for the same period in 2008, 2.7 percent growth year-on-year, delivered a colder shower than anticipated.Slovakia’s GDP grew at 7 percent in the third quarter of 2008, at 7.9 percent in the second and at 9.3 percent in the first quarter year-on-year, the Slovak Statistics Office reported on February 13. Despite the slowdown, Slovakia is still one of the best performers among the crisis-affected economies of the European Union (EU).
Presidential election nears - but who will vote?
THE NEXT presidential election will take place in Slovakia in just one month, and there is still uncertainty about how many people will turn out to vote. The consensus among analysts seems to be: not many. What is known, however, is that holding the election will cost taxpayers more than €9.5 million (Sk286.2 million).
Challenge in the sky
THE GLOBAL economic downturn has not left Slovak aviation unaffected. The airports in Bratislava as well as in Košice report a decline in travellers, but even during the current market turbulence, new carriers are emerging, while others are using the global crisis to make their operations more efficient. Other air companies are escaping some of the effects of the crisis thanks to the particular focus of their businesses.
Contract kept under wraps
DETAILS of a contract worth hundreds of millions of euros, the outcome of the biggest tender in Slovakia’s history, for which only one bid was finally accepted, will not be released to the public.The Transport Ministry and the National Highway Company (NDS) have said the contract is a commercial secret. But non-governmental organisations are sounding the alarm, saying that by not releasing details about the contract, the law on public access to information is being blatantly violated.
Air transport in Slovakia
International airports in Slovakia:Bratislava – www.airportbratislava.sk Poprad-Tatry – www.airport-poprad.skKošice – www.airportkosice.skŽilina – www.letisko.skPiešťany – www.airport-piestany.skSliač – www.airportsliac.sk
Lajčák goes to Budapest
THE NEW Slovak foreign affairs minister, Miroslav Lajčák, says that the presence of the nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS) in the ruling coalition is not a problem. And three weeks after taking office he visited Budapest in an effort to smooth relations with Hungary, which began to deteriorate noticeably after the SNS became part of the ruling coalition in June 2006.
New books available in English
Managing Change. Various Authors. Paperback: 98 pages. Publisher: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2007.
Presidential race heats up
TWO LEADING candidates in next month's presidential election, the incumbent Ivan Gašparovič and the joint opposition candidate Iveta Radičová, have made direct attacks on each other.
Railway transport in Slovakia
Železničná Spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK)The founder and one hundred percent shareholder of ZSSK is the Slovak Republic, represented by the Ministry of Transport, Posts and Telecommunications.
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