MD launches the operational program Transport, where there is a record 151 billion CZK

Prague - The Ministry of Transport will announce the first calls for project submissions on Monday, which will be funded from the Operational Program Transport (OPD). This was announced by the spokesperson of the office Karel Hanzelka. Within the program, the Czech Republic can draw a record 151 billion crowns from European funds for transport infrastructure until 2013.
The main beneficiaries of the funds from the OPD will be primarily state investment organizations such as the Railway Transport Administration, the Road and Motorway Directorate, and the Waterways Directorate. They will be able to submit their projects throughout the duration of the program and subsequently redistribute the money to private construction companies through tenders.
The ministry will publish the calls even though the European Commission has not yet approved the National Strategic Reference Framework, which means that the OPD cannot be approved either. It is expected that this will happen no earlier than the end of summer. “We want to provide beneficiaries with enough time to prepare and submit project applications and thus expedite the use of EU funds,” said Tomáš Čoček, director of the EU funds department at the Ministry of Transport.
In addition to the so-called reference framework, the EC has reserved the right to approve individual projects whose value exceeds 50 million euros (1.4 billion CZK). Given that the EC evaluates individual projects for about three months, the first money from European funds may arrive in the budget of the Czech Transport Fund no earlier than the end of the year.
However, a problem with drawing money from the Union may be the lack of funds in the Czech state treasury. All projects must be pre-financed from domestic sources; the EU then reimburses the money afterwards. The Czech Republic thus faces the risk of failing to utilize the entire package of funds.
Although it has been possible for the Ministry of Transport to secure an additional ten billion for transport construction from the reserves of other ministries this year, the budget for the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure for next year is still uncertain. Therefore, the ministry is now striving for the transport fund to have a legally guaranteed annual income of at least 45 billion crowns. The fund also receives revenue from tolls and the sale of motorway stickers.
The Transport Program is the largest operational program in the Czech Republic, and the funds from it represent 22 percent of all revenue the Czech Republic receives from EU funds. The OPD is intended primarily for the construction and modernization of roads, railways, and waterways that have national or pan-European significance.
The Ministry plans to use European funds for the completion of the D1 motorway towards northern Moravia, for the 4th railway corridor towards České Budějovice and further to Austria, or for infrastructure in industrial zones near Nošovice in northern Moravia and Triangle near Žatec.