Czech contractors are criticizing a move by the government to CZK 2bn that had been budgeted for the construction of roads and motorways into investments into the reduction of CO2 emissions and improved water quality. The government is concerned that the Czech Highways Authority (RSD) will be unable to spend the CZK 35bn in EU subsidies allotted to it in time. Because of the EU’s policy of ‘spend it or lose it’, the Ministry of Environment forced the government to request the budgeting change in Brussels. Jiri Vacek from CEEC Research told Hospodářské noviny that the CZK 2bn may not look like a lot of money, given the total amount spent on roads each year, “but the state could build several kilometers of motorways” with it. Road construction is being slowed down by the state’s inability to prepare investment projects, as the planning procedures for permits and environmentla approvals takes too long.
