Fico: Repair of Bridges Could Be Dealt with via PPP Projects

Bratislava, April 19 (TASR) - The government intends to deal with road bridges that have fallen into disrepair via public-private partnership (PPP) projects, Premier Robert Fico said on Friday, adding that investors could receive an offer to repair some 500 bridges, which would be maintained by them for a certain period of time after repair, while the state would gradually repay the investment. Another project, which could be carried out by private investors and the state would repay it, is the addition of a second track to the railway from Bratislava to Komarno. The prime minister stressed that this is the most frequented railway in Slovakia, and it's no longer possible to deploy additional trains on the line. "That is why there is a plan to build a second track on the Bratislava - Komarno railway..." Fico noted, adding that he plans to present the offer to investors during his planned visit to China in late June. The prime minister reiterated that Slovakia needs to urgently obtain new resources for other projects that the Transport Ministry can implement. An option is to make use of private deposits and capital, including pension savings, he said. "Money that people save for their pensions and other purposes ends up in the USA. We support the USA via private money and we don't support development in Slovakia," opined Fico. In the area of air transport, namely the establishment of a line from Bratislava to Kosice, the prime minister said the government is waiting for the opinion of Brussels. The line should be subsidised from the state budget, which could be considered as unauthorised state aid without an agreement with the European Commission. zel/mcs