photo: RAILTARGET/Czech Republic-Spain Railways Business Forum 2024
Last week in Prague, at the Czech Republic-Spain Railways Business Forum, key stakeholders from the Czech and Spanish railway sectors gathered to discuss future collaborations and innovations. The first highlight of the forum was the presentation by Ms. Lenka Hamplová, Director General of the Economic & Infrastructure Section at the Ministry of Transport of the Czech Republic, where she detailed the Czech government’s plans for investing in transport infrastructure.
Ms. Hamplová outlined an extensive agenda for the Czech railway system, which includes the preparation of approximately 900 transport infrastructure projects planned between now and 2050. With a total investment need of around EUR 242 billion during this period, including maintenance, the immediate decade will see EUR 130 billion allocated to these projects. Of this, conventional railways are count for EUR 37 billion, and high-speed rail developments are set to receive EUR 27 billion.
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The financing of these projects will draw on a mix of state budgets, loans, emission allowance revenues, and notably, private capital through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). In her presentation, Ms. Hamplová highlighted several major projects considered for PPPs, including the development of highway sections and critical rail connections like the one from Prague city center to the Vaclav Havel Airport and another between Nemanice and Ševětín. It was detailed that the PPP model preferred is DBFOM (Design, Build, Finance, Operate, Maintain), based on availability payments, which minimizes demand risk for private partners and limits foreign exchange risks as payments are made in EUR.
Particularly noteworthy are the planned rail connections aimed at enhancing mobility and accessibility. The Prague-Airport link, with an expected capital expenditure of about EUR 1 billion, and the double-tracking of the Nemanice-Ševětín section, which includes significant tunnel constructions and is estimated to cost around ER 1.2 billion, demonstrate the scale and ambition of the Czech transport strategy. With these projects, the Czech Republic is not only looking to boost its domestic transport capabilities but also its connectivity within the broader European transport network.
