By ashleykaren
Slovakia’s government spending watchdog has challenged the value-for-money of the scheduled 12km Karpaty Tunnel beneath the Lesser Carpathian mounts of Slovakia and near the capital Bratislava which could cost between €1 billion and €1.7 billion, as the government awaits an environmental impact assessment.
The Ministry of Finance’s Value for Money Unit conveyed that the business case for boring the 11.7km tunnel within the Lesser Carpathian Mountains – an environmentally protected area – has not been verified.
An investigation published by the country’s National Motorway Company in 2009 is obsolete and does not provide a clear need to complete the D4 motorway project of which the tunnel is part.
The D4 would operate from the D2 motorway southwest of Bratislava and head eastward and northward, finally reconnecting with the D2. The route is virtually an eastern bypass of Bratislava. Karpaty Tunnel is anticipated to be by far the most extended tunnel in Slovakia and over 4km longer than the Višňové Tunnel, part of the D1 motorway close to the northern city of Žilina.
Nevertheless, the interior ministry gave its final statement on the tunnel project in December, setting out the route and evaluating the cost at €1bn.
A spokesperson for NDS, Eva Žgravčáková, stated in January that the agency is waiting for the final Environmental Impact Assessment report from the environment ministry.
Meanwhile, residents of Bratislava’s Záhorská Bystrica district and the village of Marianka worry about the increased noise levels from the motorway, despite highway planners vowing a noise barrier driving 600m along the route.
