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Slovakia Freight Transport Report 2008Product Type: Market Research ReportPublished by: Business Monitor International Published: March 2008 Product Code: R302-2357 Description Slovakia cancelled a SKK20bn (US$810.3mn) tender for a new road toll system and said it would
redesign conditions to take advantage of a large number of applicants, the state highway administrator
said in August 2007. The National Highway Company (NDS), which planned to shortlist possible
suppliers of the toll system in September, said it would launch a new tender within days. NDS spokesman
Marcel Janosik said that changes in the conditions were needed to allow more bidders to enter the second
round. Janosik said more than 50 companies had applied to take part in the tender. The government of
leftist Prime Minister Robert Fico plans to levy a toll on cars of more than 3.5 tonnes from 2009. The
system should cover Slovakia's road network of 2,400km, including highways. The winner of the tender
would build the toll system by the end of 2008, and would receive a 13-year operating licence with an
option for another five years. The move to electronic tolling came as European Union (EU) membership
has helped boost road freight transit across the countries expanding motorway system. In our newlyreleased
Slovakia Freight Transport Repor 2008t, BMI concludes that road haulage carried will grow at
an annual average rate of 6.5%.Underpinning this forecast is the country’s good economic outlook. Since our last report, we have again raised our macroeconomic forecasts for Slovakia. We have boosted the outlook for 2007 GDP growth to 8.5% (from 6.5% earlier). In 2008, growth will cool slightly to 7.0% (was 5.2%). Average annual growth across the 2008-2012 forecast period will be 6.5% (up from our earlier projection of 5.0%). We are now predicting average annual growth in total freight carried across all modes, measured in million tonne-km (mntkm), at 6.2% in the 2008-2012 period. Airfreight will expand most of all, gaining 13.3% per annum (pa) (although this is from a comparatively very small base). The recovery of rail freight will now be slower since the cancellation of the ZSSK Cargo divestment privatisation - we expect growth of 5.4% per annum. Freight shipped on Slovakia’s inland waterways will continue to fall up to 2007 and will register average annual growth of 2.6% across the forecast period. We remain bullish over oil and gas pipeline throughput, as Slovakia enhances its role as an east-west transit route - here we see growth of 7.8% per annum. Slovakia’s BMI freight transport business environment ranking totals a composite score of 46 out of a theoretical maximum of 70, placing it at the higher end of the range compared to its European peers. Areas of particular strength include the transport intensity index (a measure of the dynamism of foreign trade) and long-term political risk. The country also scores well across transport growth, infrastructure development and the regulatory environment. The competitive environment is a little less strong, but we expect improvements here over the next couple of years. The total value of transport and communications GDP will rise to US$11.9bn in nominal terms by 2012, representing 11.2% of Slovakia’s GDP. The transport and communications sector employed 149,700 people, or 6.9% of the labour force, in 2005. We see that figure staying virtually constant to 2012, in both absolute and percentage terms. Table of Contents
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