Slovakia Secures Over EUR 27 Million EU Funding for Transport Projects

foto: TASR/Slovakia Secures Over EUR 27 Million EU Funding for Transport Projects

29 / 06 / 2023

The European Union is investing tens of millions of euros more in the development of transport in Slovakia in the coming years from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), allocated directly by the European Commission to successful projects. They represent an investment in addition to the already allocated EU funds and are mainly directed to sustainable modes of transport, the Slovak Ministry of Transport (MoT) said on Tuesday.

"I am glad that the Slovak applications were successful in Brussels. We have shown that we can fight for money for transport and the result is six new projects worth more than 27 million euros. We are already preparing projects for other calls under the Connecting Europe Facility, for which I will go to Brussels to speak in person," said Transport Minister Pavol Lančarič.

The CEF Transport 2022 call was announced in September 2022, and applicants had the opportunity to submit their project proposals until 18 January 2023. Within transport, Slovakia has the opportunity to receive up to 497 million euros from the so-called cohesion envelope, while additional resources can be obtained by quality projects from the general envelope, which is mainly used by transnational projects.

One of the approved projects is, for example, the comprehensive reconstruction and electrification of the Devínska Nová Ves - Marchegg state border line. This project was prepared by the Railways of the Slovak Republic, and a sum of EUR 12.129 million was allocated from European funds. It will be the electrification and complex reconstruction of the existing railway line between the railway station Devínska Nová Ves and the Slovak-Austrian state border.

Another approved project is the first stage of modernization of the Dobrá Combined Transport Terminal. The applicant, the state-owned company ZSSK CARGO, received a grant of EUR 2.193 million. The money will be used to prepare a feasibility study, design studies, and permits, which in the next step will enable extensive modernization of the Dobrá terminal as part of the transshipment and logistics zone East Slovakian transshipment (Čierna nad Tisou/Dobrá). The logistics zone is an important gateway to the EU for goods from the eastern countries and an exit in the opposite direction, according to the Slovak Ministry of the Interior.

ZSSK CARGO will also receive an additional contribution of EUR 4.9 million. The project includes the procurement, installation, and approval of ETCS Level 2 vehicles for two electric locomotives of the 131 series and ten electric locomotives of the 363 series.

The approved projects also include the optimization and modernization of traffic flows in the area of the border link between Hungary, Slovakia, and Ukraine (Chop - Zagony - Čierna nad Tisou - Batovo - Eperjeske), the FAIRway Danube II project, which aims to ensure the minimum requirements for maintaining the good navigation status of the Danube, and the RIS COMEX 2 project, which aims to improve the management of information services between vessels on the Danube and the state authorities.