If no more complications occur on the section between Martin and Ružomberok, it's realistic to expect that the D1 motorway from Bratislava to Košice will be completed in 2019, Construction and Regional Development Minister Ján Počiatek said on RTVS's politics show 'O 5 minút 12' on Sunday.
According to Počiatek, around 75 % of the total length of the D1 motorway between Bratislava and Košice is already in place. Another 20 % is under construction. Construction hasn't started yet on the remaining 5 % of the route, however. This concerns the city bypass around Prešov and the Turany-Hubová (Žilina region) D1 section between Martin and Ružomberok. His opponent in the debate and former Transport Ministry secretary of state Ján Hudacký (KDH) pointed out that Prime Minister Róbert Fico's first government, which served between 2006 - 2010, spoke about finishing the D1 motorway as early as in 2010. Hudacký criticised in particular the fact that Fico wanted to build the remaining sections via public-private partnerships (PPP) and not from EU funds.
