EU to Provide Slovakia with over €69 million for Northern Bypass around Presov

Presov, January 24 (TASR) - Slovakia will receive more than €69 million from the European Union (EU) for constructing the second stage of Presov's northern bypass, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee) told a news conference in Presov on Wednesday.
        In a competition involving hundreds of projects, the second highest sum was pre-approved for Slovakia, following a German railway project, stated Raz. The money will be provided under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), a call for projects with military-civilian use.
        "Let's not imagine that more than 69 million as just a virtual number that will now remain in our coffers. This is money that we saved from the state budget and can now be reinvested, for example, in a bypass around any district town or the reconstruction of 20 bridges. I thank EU representatives for approving this money for us and my colleagues who have worked really hard on it," stated Raz.
        The minister went in person to view the project involving the second stage of the Presov bypass on Wednesday. During his meeting with Presov region governor Milan Majersky, the two also spoke via a video call with Herald Ruijters of the EC Directorate General for Mobility and Transport, who held negotiations with Transport Ministry officials about other projects while in Bratislava on Wednesday.
        "The new highway connection will bring prosperity to the region, its residents and entrepreneurs. So, the European Commission has many reasons in support of the €69 million contribution. We believe that the region will make headway thanks to this contribution," stated Ruijters.
        Three packages of expenditures were the subject of a grant application filed by the National Highway Company (NDS) in September 2023. Most of the expenditures concerned the aforementioned construction of the Presov bypass, while part of the money will go to preparing project documentation for R4 sections between Presov and the state border with Poland.
        NDS signed a contract with the winner of the tender for constructing the second stage of the R4 section Presov-northern bypass last June. The tender was won by a consortium led by Eurovia SK with a bid amounting to €337.74 million (ex-VAT). The construction work was launched last September and is being partly covered from the state budget and partly from the EU's CEF programme. The deadline for completing the construction work is the final quarter of 2027.