Ministry Plans to Launch Tender for Public Warning System by End of September

Bratislava, September 10 (TASR) - The Interior Ministry plans to launch a tender to procure a warning system called SK-Alert by the end of September, TASR has learnt from ministry spokesman Matej Neumann. According to Neumann, the testing phase of the system, previously known as Reverse 112, could be launched by the ministry at the turn of 2024 and 2025. In the event of an emergency, such as floods or fires, the system would alert the public via SMS messages. The ministry will cover almost all the expenditures from EU funds. "The cost of the project is estimated at some €3.24 million, of which over 95 percent will be financed by the EU under Operational Programme Slovensko 2021-2027," said Neumann. The Interior Ministry is cooperating on the project with the Transport Ministry and the Banska Bystrica-based Research Institute of Communications. They are jointly preparing technical standardisation information for the purpose of implementing the European public warning system. SK-Alert is a supplemental warning system. The ministry doesn't plan to replace the methods currently used to warn the public today with it. It originally planned to launch the system in the summer of 2022. ko/df