Transport Ministry to Get Extra €200mn for First-class Roads Repairs
Bratislava, October 15 (TASR) – A “special injection” worth €200 million should be provided for the repair of first-class roads in the next four years, stated Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (Smer-SD) on Monday as part of an inspection day at the Transport and Construction Ministry.
Pellegrini is glad that Transport Minister Arpad Ersek (Most-Hid) managed to strike a deal with Finance Minister Peter Kazimir (Smer-SD) on allocating an additional €200 million to the ministry for the reconstruction and maintenance of the first-class roads and bridges situated on these types of road. “That means an additional injection of €50 million per year for the next four years as of 2019 aimed at narrowing the modernisation debt on the first-class road and bridge infrastructure,” said Pellegrini.
At the same time Pellegrini and Ersek concurred that the current Government will have to adopt a measure placing the agenda of first-class roads and bridges above the political cycles. “This means that the amount (of money) to be spent annually on the reconstruction of roads and bridges, many of which are in a poor condition, cannot depend on the willingness or unwillingness of a particular political power,” added the prime minister.
Ersek said that a unified system has to be introduced for the repair of first-class roads. He added that the ministry in addition to its own budget can also draw EU funds for this purpose.
Concerning rail transport, Pellegrini would like to draw attention not only to the construction of new railway corridors, but also to the maintenance and repair of railways across Slovakia.
