Countries want the government to consider freezing transport construction projects

Český Krumlov - The government should reconsider the intention of Minister of Transport Gustáv Slamečka to suspend around 300 transport construction projects due to a lack of funds, according to the South Moravian Governor and Chairman of the Association of Regions of the Czech Republic Michal Hašek (CSSD). Hašek stated this to ČTK after today's meeting with other governors in Český Krumlov. The State Transport Infrastructure Fund may lack more than 50 billion crowns for the construction of highways, expressways, and railways next year.
    "We will ask both Minister Slamečka and Prime Minister Fischer for the government to reconsider the amount of financial resources it intends to allocate to the future development of the transport infrastructure of the Czech Republic. We believe that the development of transport infrastructure can be one of the key anti-crisis measures, especially now, during a time when the economic crisis is affecting the Czech Republic, individual regions, and public finances," Hašek stated.
    Among the threatened projects are sections of the future highway D1 (currently D47) in Northern Moravia or the connection between Brno and Vienna via Mikulov. In terms of railways, this concerns the modernization of the railway yards in Břeclav or the Prague Libeň - Prague Běchovice line.
    According to Hašek, not only domestic problems are at stake, but potentially also international embarrassment. There is an intergovernmental agreement between the Czech Republic and Austria regarding the highway connection between Brno and Vienna. "Anyone who occasionally travels to Vienna can see the busy construction activity on the Austrian side. In principle, by 2012 at the latest, the Austrian side will be at the state border. If the current road continued on the Czech side, it would cause enormous problems," added the South Moravian Governor.