The State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFDI), which distributes funds for transport construction in the Czech Republic, invested more than CZK 143.2 billion last year. The amount is a record high for the second year in a row, up by about CZK 11.5 billion compared to 2022. This is according to the fund’s annual report, which was approved by the government today. This year, according to the approved budget, the fund will manage 150.1 billion crowns.
Initially, the government had approved a budget of CZK 150.9 billion for the Fund for last year, up by CZK 23.3 billion year-on-year. The revised budget was approved by MPs at CZK 147.1 billion, so the Fund has spent about 97.3 per cent of the revised budget.
Last year, the Fund released the most money for the repair and construction of roads and motorways, about CZK 73.3 billion. The Fund spent CZK 63.7 billion on rail transport last year. In 2022, on the other hand, the state invested more in railways than in roads and highways. Investment in inland waterway transport last year amounted to almost CZK 672 million. Almost CZK 1.8 billion, roughly half a billion less year-on-year, was paid by the Fund for the operation of the toll system. The Fund spent another almost CZK 194 million on the operation of the electronic vignette, up by a quarter year-on-year.
Out of the total amount last year, the Fund used money from the European Union sources in the total amount of almost CZK 25 billion. The Fund received the most money, CZK 10.2 billion, from the Transport 2021-2027 programme, followed by Community programmes, from which the Fund released CZK 5.9 billion for transport projects. The Fund disbursed around CZK 4.7 billion from the National Recovery Plan and almost CZK 4 billion from the Transport 2014-2020 programme.
The Fund’s tax revenues amounted to almost CZK 29 billion last year. The state collected the most from tolls, about CZK 14.5 billion, down 0.3 per cent year-on-year. It was followed by excise duty, which generated 7.4 billion in revenue, up 2 percent year-on-year. The state’s revenue from the road use tax increased by nine per cent year-on-year and amounted to almost CZK 6.4 billion last year. The fund’s road tax revenue dropped by more than half last year year to 716 million.
This year, according to the approved budget, the SFDI is managing CZK 150.1 billion, down CZK 0.8 billion year-on-year. The fund needs about CZK 28.5 billion to fully cover its expenses this year. “A loan from the EIB appears to be more advantageous according to an indicative overview of the EIB’s kroner loan rates compared to the yields on government bonds,” the text of the approved budget reads.
The SFDI was established in 2001. Since then, it has distributed more than CZK 1.7 trillion to finance transport construction.
Source: SFDI and CTK
