Co-ownership of the construction company Strabag by Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska should not complicate the planned construction of the last section of the D1 motorway from Přerov to Říkovice, for which the association of Strabag, Doprastav and IDS Olomouc submitted the most advantageous price offer of 6.922 billion crowns. This was stated on Twitter by the head of the Directorate of Roads and Motorways, Radek Mátl. The construction of the motorway section near Přerov is to begin in the second half of this year.
“Strabag has taken several steps to shut down Mr Deripaska as much as possible. We have been guaranteed that he will not make a dividend, which simply puts no money, for example from public procurement,” stated Mátl.
Deripaska is reportedly close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has therefore been on the American sanctions list since 2018, and this year, after the Russian attack on Ukraine, the United Kingdom also imposed sanctions on Deripaska. However, Deripaska is one of the few Russian oligarchs who has called for an end to the fighting in Ukraine and a peaceful solution to the conflict. The Czech company Datlab, which specializes in data processing and analysis, stated this week that in the Czech Republic there is a risk that 17 companies are linked to persons from the sanctions lists of European countries against Russia. In addition to Strabag with a share in Děripaska, the list that Datlab calls non-binding also includes ČKD Blansko and Škoda JS.
All non-valid building permits have already been issued for the construction of the 10.1-kilometer-long section of the D1 motorway near Přerov, and property preparation, including expropriation processes, is continuing. According to Mátl, the Appeals Commission of the Ministry of Transport is now resolving an appeal against the issued building permit for the main route. The date of the verdict was not set. “I believe that a decision will be made by the end of the first half of the year at the latest,” Mátl said.
The D1 motorway still ends on the outskirts of Přerov, the last section to Říkovice is supposed to solve the long-term bad traffic situation in the city. Preparations for its construction continue, but it is accompanied by appeals and lawsuits. Last September, the Regional Court in Ostrava dismissed the lawsuit against the Olomouc Regional Authority regarding a change in the zoning decision for this section D1. Several Dluhonice residents turned to the court, who protest against the construction. The court also rejected other lawsuits in this case filed by Děti Země and Krajina Dluhonice.
For the construction of the last part of the D1 near Přerov in the autumn, the exemption from the environmental impact assessment, the so-called EIA, expired. The Ministry of Transport has so far issued an invalid building permit, but has received seven appeals. The negotiations will take several months, so the building permit could have legal effect at the earliest at the end of the first quarter of next year. However, according to the Zdopravy.cz server, the Regional Court in Ostrava stated in a written copy of the judgment that the objections of Children of the Earth, Waters of Tetčice and Krajina Dluhonice are purely purposeful.
If the issued building permit is not revoked, the construction of the last section D1 near Přerov could be completed in 2025, according to an earlier statement by Mátl. The ten-kilometer section Říkovice – Přerov is the last part of the D1 motorway. After the complete completion, the D1 motorway should have a total of 377 kilometers from Prague via Brno and Ostrava to the Polish border.
Source: CTK
