Contractor for Mytna-Tomasovce R2 Section to Be Selected by End of Year

Contractor for Mytna-Tomasovce R2 Section to Be Selected by End of Year

Mytna, February 16 (TASR) – Transport and Construction Minister Arpad Ersek (Most-Hid) along with representatives of the National Highway Company announced the launch of a tender for constructing the R2 expressway stretch of Mytna-Tomasovce in Lucenec district (Banska Bystrica region) at a press conference in the village of Mytna on Friday.

The state expects the tender for the section’s contractor to be completed by the end of this year. “I would be glad if the public procurement was not uselessly protracted, as is usual in Slovakia, so we can start building as soon as this year. It’s a complicated construction that should cost some €162 million (excluding VAT),” said Ersek, adding that he expects the tender’s definitive price to be lower.

Ersek said he will discuss the money for the construction with Finance Minister Peter Kazimir (Smer-SD) after the tender is completed and he knows the price. “There’s another option – Prime Minister Robert Fico [Smer-SD] said that if there are any financial resources left from other operational programmes that other ministries are unable to draw, he will shift them to the Transport Ministry,” said Ersek, adding that he is seeking further potential resources within his own ministry, too. “I’m talking about a transfer of a specific sum of money, and I won’t tell you from where, but I already see savings of €40 million,” he added.

Pavol Greksa, Mytna mayor and head of the working group for the R2 section’s construction, said that the long-time fight for the construction will end with this tender. “I am especially pleased about the fact that a two-lane road will lead to Lucenec that might be extended to Hungary. Budapest is very important to us in terms of tourism,” stressed Greksa. Meanwhile, the R2’s new section will also unburden the village from transit transport, as 15,000-18,000 vehicles cross the village on a daily basis.

The Mytna-Tomasovce R2 section should be 13.5 kilometres long and start with a temporary connection between the I/16 road and the R2 expressway in front of Mytna. It should include 11 bridges, as well as six sound barrier walls. It will end at an interchange in Tomasovce.