The Slovak Transport Ministry has not secured a construction permit for the Ivanka pri Dunaji section of the Bratislava ring road. The ministry should have secured the permit before the end of 2016, according to a €1.9bn contract the government signed with the Obchvat nula consortium 10 months ago. The consortium, led by Spanish construction company Cintra, recently started groundwork on the 30 km section. However, the transport ministry has been unable to buy out land along the route. The state expropriated the land from 68 landowners, who are appealing the decision. If they are not successful, they can go to court, and the legal process can block construction indefinitely.
Land problems are also complicating work on other sections of the ring road already under construction. The transport ministry now faces increasing sanctions because of the delay. It will also have to pay the consortium for accessibility of the completed ring road sections under the contract, which binds the ministry to pay the licensee for 30 years.
