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Transport Minister Signs Contract to Build New D1 Motorway Sections
Friday 22 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 22 (TASR) - Only a day after a €1.99-billion contract to build new sections of the D1 motorway was okayed by Government, Transport Minister Lubomir Vazny on Friday signed the deal with a consortium made up of four companies led by the German firm Hochtief PPP Solutions GmbH.
Site preparation works are expected to begin shortly, and will be ongoing even before the financing of the project is settled. This package includes the following D1 motorway sections: Hricovske Podhradie-Lietavska Lucka, Lietavska Lucka-Visnove, Visnove-Dubna Skala (all Zilina region).
"The contract spells out that the preparation works are launched within ten days after the signing of the deal. We need them to begin as soon as possible," Vazny told TASR. Site-clearance works include, among other things, tree removal, which can only be done during the winter - that is, by the end of March.
The time span for the whole PPP (public-private partnership) project has been set for 33.25 years, including 3.25-4.75 years for motorway construction works alone. The consortium will therefore run the motorway sections for three decades.
According to original plans, the contract was supposed to be wrapped up by the end of 2009. However, the date had to be postponed in order to clarify the participation of the European Investment Bank (EIB), which should be financing around half the total amount.
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