Jan Jun

25 January 2012

Central Europe has seen fast economic growth and rising living standards since the fall of communism, as well as rapid infrastructure development and modernization. Since the recession in 2009, however, it has become obvious that the pace of development has to slow, as there is little budget money left.

This is now a painful reality even for the so far resilient Czech Republic, which is just over a half-way point in the development of its planned motorway (expressway) network. Its completion is now proving a headache for the Czech government. This is also because its transport policy needs to reflect more imperatives than simply the expansion of the road network versus budget constraints. The government points out that most motorway developments are in fact mandated by the European Union’s trans-continental “TEN-T” transport network plan. It is therefore financially supported by Brussels, to make sure that the centrally located country ceases to be one of the weakest links in the European motorway network.

Also, despite some environmental groups criticizing motorway development, the population increasingly demands it in order to get the towns and villages rid of the air-polluting heavy traffic, bring regional centres closer and establish fast links with the extensive motorway networks of the western neighbours. This is also the aim of the EU, based on its 'Keep Europe Moving' strategy that resulted in a 47 percent growth of its motorway network just between 1990 and 2005 and now at some 70,000km.

Completing the construction of a modern transport infrastructure in the heart of Europe is proving an uphill struggle for the Czechs…

The problem for the Czechs is that since joining the European Union in 2004, the country has become one of the continent’s busiest road transport hubs. Tens of thousands of trans-European heavy multi-axle international freight trucks (called fittingly “the juggernauts” in Britain) come and go every day spewing their exhaust fumes, and the country’s ancient capital city of Prague is jammed by more cars than Vienna. Because of all this traffic that currently reaches daily density of 130,000 vehicles on the main East-West highway near Prague, the country’s roads and motorways—both old and newly built ones—are showing signs of wear and tear and need upgrading.

Also, the Czech highway network has lagged behind some comparatively sized western European countries. Portugal, for example, currently has some 2650 kilometres of mostly newly built motorways (some 30 kilometres per 1000 square kilometres). The Czech Republic has under half this at 1181 kilometres (14 kilometres per 1000 square kilometres).

At this rate, the Czech Republic will never reach the road density of, say, the Netherlands, with 56 kilometres per 1000 square kilometres, or the extent of networks of countries such as Germany (12,500 kilometres), Mexico (6300 kilometres), or Brazil (12,000 kilometres).

Czechs could now envy the speed of expressway construction even in some African countries like South Africa (2100 kilometres in use), Algeria (3400 kilometres in use and 1,000 kilometres under construction) or Morocco (900 kilometres in use, 950 kilometres under construction).

They also point at neighbouring Poland, with just 1048 kilometres completed but with another 1,500 kilometres under construction—much of which is due for completion next year for the European football championships, and costing $12 billion this year alone.

Slovakia, on the other hand, has lagged behind, having until recently entertained “megalomaniac” public-private partnership projects, according to the new Slovak government expressways strategy. While the Czechs utilize as much as they get from slow-paying Brussels, (with $3.3 billion promised and only $1.6 billion so far paid), Slovakia has only used 18 percent of the available EU money and only 49 percent of all the projects have been finished (and just 33 percent of the planned total has gotten underway since 2007). Some public-private concessions were judged to have been 'disadvantageous to the state', and only one is being completed, concludes the strategy paper. Slovakia has only 604 kilometres of the planned 1880 kilometre network in use, and just 78 kilometres under construction.

Having had the fifth highest per-capita GDP in Europe in the 1930s, Czechoslovakia was among the first European countries to start motorway construction. By the time WWII broke out, a number of large reinforced concrete bridges (such as the 120-metre span at Senohraby), and some stretches of earthwork had been completed.

However, the war halted construction efforts, and in the 1950s the motorway project was cancelled by the Stalinist regime (which did not approve of private car ownership). Planning for a new network began with the ideological thaw in the 1960s. Work recommenced in 1967; the 350 kilometre Prague-Brno-Bratislava motorway was completed in 1980 while others got underway.

The pace of road construction intensified after the Velvet Revolution in 1989; since the peaceful split in 1992, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have continued with their own national programmes. Until recently, the Czech network of motorways and motorway-standard dual carriageways (i.e., wide hard shoulders, multi-level junctions, large-radius curves, etc.) was aiming for the completion of 2180 kilometres by 2025. In particular:

•    There is the old Prague-Brno-Bratislava (Slovakia) motorway (D1), forking at Brno towards Olomouc, Ostrava and the Polish border in the northeast, with the construction of the last border stretch of 6 kilometres due next April, but a 24 kilometre gap remaining around Prerov. This motorway spine is now linked by the new 23 kilometre southern part of Prague’s orbital expressway to the D5 motorway running to the German network via Nuremberg. Yet, this main Czech East-West motorway axis—a trans-European route running to Russia and Turkey—is old, narrow (4 lanes) and crumbling. There have been plans to widen it, as well as to build a second east-west link between Hradec Kralove and Olomouc (R35)—but there’s no funding left.

•    There are several other completed bits around Prague and in Moravia, but Prague’s 80 kilometre orbital remains less than half-completed.

•    There’s another link (the D8) from Prague to Dresden, with the last 16 kilometre stretch—much delayed by the environmental protesters—to open in 2013-14.

•    The route from Prague to the northern city of Liberec (R10) has been completed, yet only a 15 kilometre stretch of the planned D3 expressway to the south (Prague-Ceske Budejovice-Austria) is in use, and a mere 25 kilometres is being built.

•    The 90 kilometre Prague-Hradec Kralove motorway (the D11) is still awaiting key extensions towards western Poland and Scandinavia.

The Czech motorway network has benefited handsomely from the EU’s infrastructure development funding. Because many motorways are part of the EU’s TEN-T high-priority network, the Czech Republic has gotten “Operational Programme Transport” financing from the EU’s Cohesion Fund and the Regional Development Fund. In many cases, as much as 85 percent of the costs covered from EU sources. This totals $4 billion for 2007-2013 (despite Brussels being often late with payments). These constitute some 22 percent of all the EU budget money for the Czech Republic, with an additional $4 billion set aside for railways upgrades.

However, with the budget cuts, the government is unable to even find the co-financing needed to access this fund. A number of projects have been shelved and construction on some stretches has been halted. The latest scaled-down government programme—the so-called “super strategy”, which faced opposition from the local authorities and professional bodies—collapsed with the recent resignation of Transport Minister Barta. Central government subsidies to the county administrations that are responsible for the construction and maintenance of secondary and tertiary roads are to be cut, too.

So, building work has drastically slowed down. Whereas 52 kilometres of multilane motorways were opened in 2010, only 14 kilometres were completed in 2011 and 24 are due in 2012. After that it will be back to just 20 kilometres a year. At this rate, it would take half a century to construct the missing 1000 kilometres.

No wonder that many angry towns and villages along the missing stretches of motorway that are suffocating from fumes of pan-European freight conveys now often resort to desperate road blockades. While the costs of completing the network are estimated at some $130 billion, only ($3.5 billion have been budgeted this year (just two thirds of last year’s sum)—and much of this to cover repairs, rather than new road-building. Also, according to the Transport Ministry, some 500 road bridges that have been neglected for decades are now in urgent need of repair—at an estimated cost of $1.75 billion.

As a result, many Czechs are now scratching their heads, not really knowing what to do. Pavel Dobes, the third transport minister in a year, has called for $560 million in additional annual contributions to the road fund (increasing tolls by 25 percent and threatening to include non-expressway trunk roads in the toll system), in order to finance the completion of frozen construction projects and avoid the loss of non-transferable EU monies. However, he has got only $220 million.

There is also much talk about corruption, and about construction firms over-inflating prices for government-funded work. While the road fund is supported by tolls collected from all freight vehicles weighing over 3.5 tons, this not enough to fill the gap. As a result, the next EU allocation for 2014-2020 (of $5 billion) is also endangered.

Legislation to improve the legal framework for the public-private partnerships that underpin toll road construction and management remains stuck in Parliament. Some experts say that the relevant government body (the RSD) is incapable of preparing planning permits and acquiring sites in the 30-kilometre customary stretches for public-private partnership concessions.

Tolls would apparently need to be set at a minimum of $0.08 per kilometre, a sum which 'most Czechs would not pay, quit motorways and clog the secondary roads'. The meagre results of the transport concessions in Slovakia—with the completion of the main east-west motorway delayed until 2017—and in Poland—where a “cheap” Chinese contractor has been replaced after running out of money—add more fuel to the fire.

The Czechs may not be alone with their problems, but that doesn’t make them happy. Perhaps they should realize that only strong economic growth could get their infrastructure development moving again, thus allowing the suffocating villagers to end their road blockades.

Mr. Jan Jun, M.A. is a Czech freelance journalist working in Britain and specializing in international relations and economics.