The Slovak government approved a respective change to OPII at its session on May 4. The change was submitted by Transport Minister Roman Brecely (a Sieť/Network nominee).
OPII’s wording previously only enabled the D1 and D3 highways to be financed from European Funds. According to the new rules, the list will be extended to include also the D4. This would be financed by a loan via financial tools at the disposal of national investment fund Slovakia Investment Holding, the Transport Ministry informed the TASR newswire.
This step creates scope for savings in public finances if the new government decides to support the Bratislava ring-road project, which should form part of the D4 highway and R7 dual carriageway.
The decision to construct the Bratislava ring-road via a public-private partnership (PPP) project was made by the previous government. A tender was carried out, with a consortium led by the Spanish company Cintra emerging as the winner. The result was confirmed by the former government, but the contract for the road’s construction has not yet been signed.
The change to OPII that allows for co-financing of the D4 from EU Funds was okayed by the relevant national monitoring committee in April. Following the government’s approval, the Transport Ministry will still need to submit the proposal to the European Commission.
