Prime Minister Fico expects massive interest from investors in Bratislava bypass

The public-private partnership (PPP) project to build the Bratislava bypass was approved by the Government at its session on Wednesday. The Transport, Construction and Regional Development Ministry is now free to start the tender from which the contractor and operator of the road should emerge. The PPP project to build the Bratislava bypass is well thought out, and I expect it to be of major interest for investors, stated Prime Minister Robert Fico. Based on estimates from the Transport Ministry, the venture should cost a little over €1.3 billion. A feasibility study of the project envisaged that the state will have to pay annual instalments of some €150 million for the road over 30 years. The Opposition has urged the Government to explore in more detail various modes of funding the venture such as through an investment package being promoted by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. The Transport Ministry rejected this claiming that the PPP is the only way of building the bypass, as the state budget is short of the required funding for another seven years. The building of the Bratislava bypass via a PPP project is a major fraud and a case of 'tunnelling' that will pile up debts for future generations, stated Freedom and Solidarity chairman and MEP Richard Sulík.