The European Investment Bank (EIB) provides a EUR 200 million loan for the construction of two motorway sections on the southwest part of the Prague outer ring and the related access roads. The construction of the Prague motorway ring is part of the Corridor IV of the Pan-European transport network connecting Germany, Prague, Bratislava and Vienna. It will also increase transit transport capacity around Prague.
The southwest section of the Prague Motorway Ring will link the two most important motorways in the Czech Republic: to the west the D5 motorway connecting Prague with the Czech/German border towards Nürnberg, and to the southeast, the D1 towards the country second biggest city Brno, and Slovakia.
The motorway ring will have an important impact on the quality of the environment in the capital city. The new sections will contribute to removing further the most critical bottleneck for national and international transit traffic in the outskirts of Prague. For the time being all road traffic, including heavy lorries, has to use the existing road infrastructure closer to the historic city centre.
Since the start of the last decade the Prague traffic volume and car ownership of city citizens reached rapidly the level common in western Europe without developing corresponding adequate transport infrastructure and parking facilities. The city is confronted daily with traffic congestion and the completion of the Prague Motorway ring is therefore a priority.
The EIB supports the development of transport infrastructure in the new Member States and connection with the core EU network was often neglected in the past. Modern and high capacity infrastructure will contribute to a better integration within the EU and create conditions for a more rapid economic growth.
Major transport projects co-financed by the Bank in the Czech Republic are: 62 km motorway between Plzeň and the Czech-German border; Plzeň motorway bypass; sections of the Prague Dresden mortorway; the upgrading of the Czech stretches of railroad Berlin-Prague-Vienna, Warsaw-Ostrava-Vienna, and the connecting link Česká-Třebová-PřerovČeská-Třebová-Přerov. In addition, are also being implemented with the support of EIB loans the extension of the Prague metro system, and the new Prague airport terminal.
Since 1990 the EIB, the long-term financing arm of the European Union, has provided loans in the Czech Republic exceeding EUR 5.2 billion. Almost half of this sum - EUR 2.5 bn - has been invested in upgrading of the Czech communication infrastructure.
Generally, in the new Member States of Central Europe, the EIB has lent some EUR 27 billion to projects promoting European integration since 1990. Therefore, the EIB is the most important external source of finance for Central and Eastern Europe.