Today transport minister Jan Figel from the ruling KDH party gave his assurance that the current government would continue to develop the motorway network in Slovakia. He added that the current government would do so in a cheaper and more efficient way than its predecessor.
Figel criticised the path taken by the former government, saying that the system of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in motorway construction was totally overpriced and unmanageable.
He pointed out that if his ministry had not cancelled the three PPP projects, Slovakia would have been paying back some EUR 700 million a year for the next 30 years, which would have taken it down the highly indebted road travelled by Greece.
Figel also mentioned how the state borrows from commercial banks at an interest rate of around 4%, while the PPP projects would have cost the country 12% in interest alone.