As of December 1, the Ministry of Construction and Public Works has been renamed the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development; the new name reflects the fact that, according to the law, regional development is now in the jurisdiction of the ministry.
In the words of Minister of Construction and Regional Development Istvan Harna, the ministry is undergoing an extensive restructuring process. The main goal of the reforms is to achieve compatibility with European legislation to allow foreign companies to participate in public tenders in Slovakia and Slovak companies to take part in foreign tenders.
Deputy Construction Minister Roman Sipos said an outline of the law on regional development should be completed in the first half of 2000, which will stipulate the establishment of a National Agency for Regional Development.
