Slovakia uses many funds, including the Recovery and Resilience Plan, to develop a coherent cycling network in the Danube Region. The funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan will support new cycle routes, shelters and bicycle racks.  EUR 36.5 million including VAT is available now under the first call.  Electronic applications can be sent from 16 May 2022 to 15 August 2022.

"A new era of cycling has been starting up. We're not going to build cycle routes somewhere in a field, we want the newly built cycle routes to make sense and connect towns and villages and help people to get to work easily, or to school, to a train station. I believe that local governments will be very interested in the grants," said Transport Minister Andrej Doležal.

The grants can be applied for by towns, municipalities, self-governing regions, budget organizations established by local governments, or the Railways of the Slovak Republic. In the first call, towns over 20 thousand inhabitants and municipalities within 5 kilometres far from them, or the closest municipalities to the town, can apply for the grants. There are no maximum or minimum limits set for the amount you apply for, however, the eligible costs for 1km of a cycleway cannot exceed EUR 500,000.

"The costs can be reimbursed retroactively as well, for example, the costs that were spent on a project documentation for a cycle path that has already been planned. The eligible period is from 1 February 2020 to 31 March 2026. The projects must be completed by the date," said the Minister of Transport.

The applications will be assessed according to the methodology which has long been published on the transport ministry's website. Submitted projects will be scored according to how they meet formal or technical criteria. New cycle routes must meet the 5P (in Slovak) principle: perceived safety, connectivity, directness, attractiveness and convenience. All data should be detailed in the form, which can be found at www.mindop.sk/cyklo.

"Although the form might seem overdetailed, it is highly important to fill in what is required. We need as much details as possible to be objective and be able to decide which projects will be supported in the end," said Peter Hrapko, Director of the Department of Transport Strategy at the Ministry of Transport.

The ministry will sign a contract with successful applicants and after the subsequent tender for the contractor, the applicants will receive an advance payment of 70% of the required costs. All the necessary information can be found at the above mentioned link www.mindop.sk/cyklo, and the Ministry will also organize several workshops. This week, the first workshop will be held for representatives of towns with a population over 20 thousand; later, Ministry staff will also train representatives of municipalities and organisations that are eligible to apply for the subsidies.

Text: Ministry of Transport and Construction of the Slovak Republic,
Photo: depositphotos.com