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Starting next year, the price of Slovakian highway stickers will continue to rise. Anyone can think that all highway sections of the country will be usable in exchange for at least that much. But what would happen if the state entrusted the Carpathian tunnel as part of the M4 motorway to Chinese construction companies and charged a toll for the passage? Such a plan emerged as a realistic possibility, as the construction of the Carpathian Tunnel is expensive and the state may not have sufficient funds for it. Paying tolls in the tunnel is not unknown, as it is common for Norwegians or Alpine drivers, for example, reminds the Hospodárske noviny daily.
The length of the Carpathians tunnel can be 12 kilometers and its construction would cost approximately 1.7 billion euros. Would the fees paid by motorists cover at least part of this amount? This was reported by the Minister of Transport, Jozef Ráž. In this way, Chinese companies could build this section of the M4 and then charge money for its use. However, experts warn that the financing would not be entirely market-based, and that the state should also participate to some extent in covering the costs of the section between Rača and Záhorská Bystrica due to public interest considerations. Slovakia is showing interest in the TBM (tunnel building machine) method, which uses a drill shield. However, handing over the project to Chinese companies may involve risks, especially regarding their expertise in the European market. Such problems have previously arisen with railway construction in the EU, which was also entrusted to China.
It is also almost certain that the Ministry of Transport would have to face criticism because there would be fewer job opportunities for domestic construction companies. A separate article could be written about the geopolitical consequences.
