Construction of the two hundred and ten kilometres long D35 motorway is delayed and more expensive
Press release on audit No 22/08 – 13 November 2023
Although the D35 motorway between Hradec Králové and Olomouc is one of the most important parts of the Czech motorway network, its construction is delayed and more expensive. Despite the fact that the construction began in the 1970s, the entire length is not expected to be operational until 2030, according to the Road and Motorway Directorate (RMD). The total construction time of the 210 km long motorway will therefore exceed 50 years. In addition, delaying construction raises costs. For example, a six-year delay of the motorway section between Opatovice nad Labem and Opatovec will make construction more expensive by CZK 7.6 billion. This has been shown in the results of the SAO's audit of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and the RMD focused on the management of state and EU funds earmarked for the preparation and construction of the D35 motorway. In particular, the SAO audited the period from 2017 to May 2023, examined in detail the preparation process of 14 sections of the motorway and found facts that significantly reduce the effectiveness and economy of spending funds.
The auditors found that the MoT failed to comply with the conceptual plans for the construction of the D35 motorway approved by the Government and with the timetables specified in the conceptual and strategic materials. For example, according to a 2001 government resolution, construction of all sections should have started by 2010 at the latest. The construction of the R35 expressway was then identified as a government priority. Twenty-two years after this government resolution, construction has not yet started on 11 of the 21 sections of the motorway. These sections, totalling 108 km in length, were still in preparation at the time the SAO audit was completed in May 2023. So far, 90 km, or 43% of the total planned length of the D35 motorway, have been put into operation. The cost of preparation and construction of the 14 audited sections of the motorway is expected to reach CZK 96.6 billion, while according to the auditors' findings, CZK 13.4 billion has been spent so far.
For the 14 sections of motorway audited, the preparation of construction (from the issue of the consent opinion for the environmental impact assessment to obtaining the construction permit) took an average of 12 years. For example, the 3.3 km long Křelov-Slavonín construction took 27 years to prepare. According to the SAO's findings, the main reasons for the delays were the problems of the RMD related to obtaining zoning permits and property settlement of land (in particular land purchases and securing documents for expropriation). The long duration of zoning procedures was caused mostly by the RMD submitting incomplete documents to construction authorities. The proceedings were also prolonged by the submission of objections and appeals by the parties to the proceedings.
Prolonging the preparation and delaying construction raises costs. For example, according to the original transport strategies, the motorway section between Opatovice nad Labem and Opatovec should have been completed by 2021 at a cost of CZK 31.1 billion, then by 2023 at a cost of CZK 31.2 billion. According to the current assumptions of RMD, however, the motorway in this section will be completed in 2027 at the earliest, i.e. six years later, at a cost of approximately CZK 38.7 billion. It will therefore be CZK 7.6 billion more expensive.
Two motorway sections with a total length of approximately 35 km between Opatovec and Mohelnice are to be built in the form of a public-private partnership (PPP project) based on a government decision from 2022. A feasibility study showed that the construction of these sections of the motorway in the form of a PPP is 4.1% more profitable. However, the project is delayed compared to the MoT's assumptions. According to the SAO, the implementation of the PPP project is endangered by risks on both sides. In case of the RMD, it is mainly due to the incompletion of property-legal preparation and failure to secure final construction permits before the concessionaire contract is concluded. In case of the MoT, the procurement procedure for the concessionaire is complicated and delays arise between the various stages of the PPP project preparation.
Due to construction delays, the existing road still suffers from negative impacts such as passages through towns and villages, high traffic volume, accidents, environmental pollution and longer travel times. On the other hand, once completed, the D35 is expected to significantly save travel time and improve the environment, as the new route will run outside town and village centres. Above all, as a second capacity link between Bohemia and Moravia, it should take over part of the traffic volume from the D1 motorway.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office