MD: Only constructions whose suppliers offer discounts will continue

Prague - According to Transport Minister Vít Bárta, only the construction of transportation projects whose contractors offer sufficiently large discounts to the ministry will continue. The minister will discuss this with construction companies and wants to propose, for example, extending payment schedules. Bárta stated this yesterday on the program Questions of Václav Moravec.
    "In the current dramatic situation of the state budget, it is necessary to stop a number of constructions. My first strategic step towards better management is that only those who come and offer sufficiently large discounts will build," said Bárta.
    The specific list of projects that will be suspended has not yet been published by the minister. He wants to do so "within days."
    According to information recently published by former Transport Minister Gustav Slamečka, the construction of highways D47 including access roads, D8 from Prague to Ústí nad Labem, the Eastern Bohemian highway D11, the Karlovy Vary R6, and some railway hubs, for example in Brno, will most likely be halted.
    The suspension of the construction of transportation projects is viewed problematically by Petr Čížek, chairman of the Association for Road Construction in Prague, which consists of construction companies. "There are contracts that cannot simply be terminated unilaterally," Čížek pointed out earlier. According to him, another major problem is the halt of project work. "Halting preparation is a tragedy for the future. Constructions will not be ready for the time when, for example, there will again be money," said the representative of builders.
    Bárta also spoke today in the program about the case of the company ČD Cargo, which has supposedly been harmed by the decisions of its former management in the past. According to the results of an audit by KPMG, Bárta stated that ČD Cargo economically favored the company Spedi-trans in some contracts, which previously belonged to the recently dismissed general director of ČD Cargo, Josef Bazal.
    "The costs of ČD Cargo were higher than the price that the company Spedi-trans paid to ČD Cargo," said Bárta. He pointed out that the company does not have a clear ownership structure.
    Bazala denied the allegations, stating that he sold the company Spedi-trans in 2003 and that its owner is the group Čechofracht, which belongs to the firm New World Resources Transportation from the financial group of financier Zdeněk Bakala. "If it is mentioned that Spedi-trans is one of the largest customers of ČD Cargo, it is necessary to realize that it represents the entire OKD Transportation group, which transports roughly six million tons of coal," Bazala stated.
    According to the shadow minister of transport of the ČSSD, Roman Onderka, ČD Cargo should only allow companies with a transparent ownership structure to participate in tenders. "This is a matter that should be dealt with by the Chamber of Deputies and directly resolve the law on public procurement," said Onderka.