THE Czech Republic’s rail infrastructure manager SZ has commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to prepare a feasibility study into the potential for public-private partnership (PPP) financing of the proposed high-speed line between Prague and Moravia in the east of the country.
PwC will examine options for PPPs on two parts of the route: between Brno and Ostrava, and from Brno to Břeclav. Both were chosen as they are the sections of the high-speed line that are most advanced, with the majority of planning consent already obtained.
“If the Czech Republic is to have… the first sections of high-speed lines under construction in 2033, we must secure more resources to finance construction,” says Czech transport minister, Mr Martin Kupka. “The involvement of the private sector through so-called PPP projects is therefore a necessary step. The private sector will complete the design, finance, build the lines, operate and maintain them for several decades, and then hand them over to the state.”
The PwC report is expected in the second quarter of this year and in the meantime SZ is putting together a dedicated PPP team, which will include a French expert with experience in the construction of high-speed lines.
“This will help the government of the Czech Republic to decide on the use of PPP financing on sections of the Moravian high-speed link and to start the selection of a transaction consultant for the preparation of a concession contract with the future contractor for the construction of the line,” says Mr Jakub Bazgier, director of the high-speed line construction department at SZ.
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