Expressway R1 (Zarnovica – Sasovske)

The project consists of the construction of a new four-lane section of the expressway R1 between the cities of Zarnovica and Sasovske Podhradie for a total length of 18.047 km with cross section of 22.5 m and design speed of 100 km/h (i.e.: category R22.5/100).

The project will reduce travel time and improve road safety. The expressway alignment has been determined to minimise interferences with the river Hron, the existing railway track of the Slovak Railways and the residential areas of the municipalities concerned. A number of technical and organisational measures aiming at minimising the impacts of the project have been taken in the course of construction and envisaged for the operation phase.

The current project falls under Annex I of the EIA Directive 85/337/EEC as amended by Directives 97/11/EC and 2003/35/EC, being subject to an assessment in accordance with Articles 5 to 10 of EIA Directive. The whole process for developing the project was completed in September 2008 and its compliance with EIA directives is acceptable for the Bank. The road alignment does not cross any location included in the NATURA 2000 network. The project is expected to generate some 3 Kton of CO2 emissions per year mainly as a result of the induced traffic along the corridor.

The EU Procurement directives (2004/17/EC, 2004/18/EC) have been transposed into Slovak legislation by the Act No. 25/2006 Coll. The main construction contracts for Stage I and Stage II of the project were published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) under the reference numbers 2007/S 126-154109 and 2008/S 146-196368 respectively. The procurement process is acceptable to the Bank.

Under Framework Loan.