EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESS RELEASE Brussels, 2 December 2013 EUR 189 million of regional funds for two priority transport projects connecting Slovakia with the rest of Europe The European Commission has approved today €189 million in total from the Cohesion Fund for two transport projects which will vastly improve Slovakia's connections with the rest of Europe and boost its economic development. Both projects are part of the Trans- European Transport Network (TEN-T). The first project "D1 Jánovce - Jablonov" firmly establishes the D1 motorway as the key Slovakia's transport corridor connecting the western part of the country to the east leading to the Ukrainian border. The project concerns construction of two road sections of 18.54 km on the D1 motorway (Bratislava – Žilina – Košice – Slovak/Ukrainian border) as well as the construction of 22 bridges and 5 noise barriers. This investment comes under the priority axes 2 "Road Infrastructure (TEN-T)" under the operational programme for transport in Slovakia. It ensures the connection from West- Slovakia to the East (Ukrainian border). The European Union, through the Cohesion Fund, will finance the project with €146.3 million out of a total investment of €172.1 million. The implementation is expected to create 500 jobs during construction. The second TEN-T project which has recently been completed, concerns a road section of 14.18 km on the R4 Košice-Milhosť and is part of the important TEN-T North-South corridor, connecting Slovakia with Hungary and Romania. It includes also the construction of two interchanges and 14 bridges and will receive funding under the priority axis 2 "Road Infrastructure – Expressways and First Class Roads" of €42.7 million out of a total investment of €50.3 million. Following the approval, Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, commented: “These projects will provide an important contribution to Slovakia's economic development in terms of growth and competitiveness. They are key parts of the TEN-T-network, ensuring Slovakia's connection with priority European transport corridors. As key connection routes between West and the East and the North and South respectively, they are a benefit for Europe as a whole. The transport routes will also clearly improve the mobility of the citizens and ensure faster travel conditions within the country. Contacts : Shirin Wheeler (+32 2 296 65 65) Annemarie Huber (+32 2 299 33 10) IP/13/ Background These are "major projects", of which the total investment (VAT included) is above €50 million and thus subject to a specific decision by the European Commission, whereas other types of projects are approved at national or regional levels. The D1 Motorway ("D1 Jánovce – Jablonov") is part of the west to east TEN-T-corridor linking Germany, Austria, to Slovakia leading to the Ukrainian border (and then inside Slovakia it links the western part (Bratislava) to the far eastern part (Kosice)). It consists of two sections of 18.54 km altogether. The first section begins in Jánovce (km 334) to continue the previous section of the motorway D1 connection Mengusovce - Jánovce. The interconnection of the motorway D1 with the road I/18 and further with the road II/536 will be located at this place. The first section ends in km 343 with the full interchange Levoča. This is at the same time the connection to the following second section of the motorway D1 Jánovce – Jablonov, including the tunnel Šibeník and the resting area Levoča. This section begins in intersection Levoča (km 343) and ends in Jablonov (km 352,5). The R4 Road ("R4-Košice-Milhosť") of the North to South TEN-T-corridor links Eastern Poland, to Eastern Slovakia (Kosice°), to Hungary and further down to Romania. It includes the construction of 14.18 km road section, two interchanges and 14 bridges. The 'Košice South' junction now connects express road R4 to the existing I/68 and the forthcoming express road R2. The second junction, at Kechnec, connects the express road to a class III road to the Kechnec industrial park between Kechnec and Perín Chym. Slovakia has been allocated approximately €11.7 billion in total cohesion policy funding from 2007-2013. More information: EU-funded 'Major Projects' Project contact "R4-Košice-Milhosť" Project contact "D1 Jánovce – Jablonov" EU cohesion policy in Slovakia Twitter - @EU_Regional @JHahnEU 2.