THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) will provide Slovakia with a loan of between Sk17.5 billion and Sk19 billion (€436 to 473 million) to finance the construction of the highway strip Ladce-Žilina, Slovak Transport Minister Pavol Prokopovič said on May 12.
The private news agency SITA wrote that the loan would be taken by the soon-to-be-founded highway construction firm Dialničná Spoločnosť. The firm will be a joint stock company owned by the state, thus keeping the loan from increasing government debt.
The minister said that, in his opinion, Slovakia should draw loans from the EIB in the future, as this financing source was much cheaper than private sector funding.
The highway section Ladce-Žilina must be completed ahead of its original schedule due to an agreement between the Slovak government and the South Korean carmaker Kia.
Compiled by Martina Pisárová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
