📋 Tender Overview
The completion of the key D35 highway is once again a step closer. The Ministry of Transport after completing the competitive dialogue has invited three participants to submit final bids for the construction of the missing sections of the D35 highway between Opatovec and Mohelnice in the form of a so-called PPP i.e. a Public-Private Partnership. The Ministry of Transport expects the submission of bids for the sections Opatovec - Stare Mesto and Stare Mesto - Mohelnice during this summer.
After the submission of bids their evaluation will take place followed by the approval of the most advantageous bid by the government and the Chamber of Deputies. The conclusion of the concession contract is expected in the second half of the year so that the contractor can start preparatory construction work this year.
The PPP project which was prepared by the previous government appears to us as the best way to realize the technologically complex and financially demanding sections of the D35 highway between Opatovec and Mohelnice as soon as possible also considering the possibilities of the public budget. Thanks to the cooperation of the public and private sectors we will obtain modern infrastructure with a long-term guarantee of quality and a spread of payments over time says Minister of Transport Ivan Bednarik.
As a state we are well prepared for this project - we have secured the necessary permits land and some preparatory work thanks to the good work of the Road and Motorway Directorate. Moreover as a ministry we already have real experience from the successful project of completing the Pisek D4 highway adds Deputy Minister of Transport Adam Kalous.
Four internationally renowned candidates who met the qualification criteria participated in the competitive dialogue. One consortium withdrew from the selection process at the end of 2025. Thus these 3 candidates will be invited to submit bids:
1. The ViaCM consortium composed of VINCI Highways S.A.S. Abrdn European Sustainable Infrastructure GP V Limited and John Laing Europe Holdings B.V.
2. The consortium composed of Cintra Global SE STRABAG Motorway GmbH Budimex s.a. and Invesis B.V.
3. The LitMo Dalnice consortium composed of FCC Concesiones de Infraestructuras S.L. Meridiam Eastern Europe IV A S.A.S. and Metrostav Concessions a.s.
The total scope of the PPP project includes the construction operation and maintenance of new sections Opatovec - Stare Mesto and Stare Mesto - Mohelnice with a total length of 35.4 kilometers as well as the operation and regular maintenance of the connecting sections of D35 between Litomysl and Opatovec with a length of 17 km. Their construction is managed by the Road and Motorway Directorate and they will be included in the PPP project only upon the completion of the construction of the new sections. The construction also includes two significant tunnels - the Detrichov tunnel (almost 4 km) and the Maletin tunnel (1.3 km).
The estimated investment costs of the project are around 1.7 billion euros but the final price will depend on the bids of the candidates themselves. Payments from the state will be made in the form of availability payments for approximately 22 years of operation.
As a state we will start paying the concessionaire for availability only when the sections are completely finished and the highway is put into operation. Along with the mechanism of deductions for poor quality and unavailability the selected concessionaire is naturally motivated to complete the construction as quickly as possible so that the highway is available to users as a service throughout the concession period in the contractually stipulated quality reminds Jan Ornst head of the independent department of PPP projects at the Ministry of Transport of the great advantage of implementing it in the form of PPP.
From the drivers perspective the highway will be tolled in the same way as other roads in the Czech Republic. Revenue from users will be income for the State Fund for Transport Infrastructure (SFDI) and will not be linked to payments to the concessionaire who is paid solely based on the principle of highway availability in the agreed quality.
The D35 highway is one of the most important transport arteries in the Czech Republic connecting Eastern Bohemia with Central Moravia. After its completion it will relieve not only the municipalities through which the current road I/35 passes but also the overloaded backbone highway D1. Currently the Road and Motorway Directorate is constructing 31.2 km of the new D35.
