Deloitte will help with the selection of a concessionaire for the construction of the new Prague air-rail connection towards Václav Havel Airport which will be implemented in PPP scheme, the Czech rail infrastructure manager, Správa železnic (SŽ), said. The selection process will be also carried out together with Česká spořitelna, the law firm Císař, Češka, Smutný and the engineering company AFRY.
The selection of the consortium to provide external consulting services took place on the basis of a tender process announced at the end of 2023 by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with which the Správa železnic is cooperating on this key project of the Ministry of Transport.
The government decided on the use of PPP scheme for the construction of Prague air-rail connection in August of last year based on a feasibility study that proved the feasibility of this solution. In the Czech Republic, this will be the first PPP railway project that has reached the stage of selecting a concessionaire. “We need PPP projects to ensure an adequate and long-term sustainable mix of financial resources necessary for the implementation of all projects, including the high-speed lines we are preparing,” Martin Kupka, the Minister of Transport said.
The subject of the PPP project will be the construction of sections from Prague’s Veleslavín to Ruzyně and from Ruzyně to the airport, including the construction of the Prague – Václav Havel Airport train station. Traffic control will be provided by employees of the Správa železnic from the Central Dispatch Office in Prague at Balabenka, outside of the management of the selected concessionaire.
“I believe that the international background of the selected consulting team will lead to the successful implementation of the first railway PPP project in the Czech Republic. According to the approved schedule, the financial closure, which enables the start of construction, should occur within 30 months from the signing of the contract, i.e. by September 2026,” the Director General of the Správa železnic, Jiří Svoboda said.
Part of the work of the selected consultant is also ensuring a responsible approach to the evaluation of current environmental and social issues of the project so that it is implemented in accordance with the best foreign practice in the field of sustainability.
This should lead to the possible involvement of a wider portfolio of financing institutions, such as the European Investment Bank or the EBRD, and an overall reduction in the financial costs of the project.
The entire line from Prague to the airport and to Kladno is expected to run exclusively under ETCS. At the same time, it is being prepared as a two-track electrified line.
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