Connecting Slovenia: EUR 11 million in EU funds for a highway connecting Velenje and Slovenj Gradec
Ljubljana, 25 November 2021 – Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved EUR 11 million from European Regional Development Fund for the project Drafting documents for the construction of the highway for section 2 of Third Development Axis – North from junction Velenje South to junction Slovenj Gradec South. The investment is the latest in a series of investments supported by EU funding that aim to connect Slovenia. Over the past seven years, Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has approved over EUR 103 million in EU funds for projects that improve road connectivity by investing in motorways, bypasses and highways which facilitate access and promote balanced regional development.
As part of the project, the Motorway Company of the Republic of Slovenia will draft project documents that will serve as the basis for acquiring all the needed construction permits and for meeting all the conditions for construction works to start. By constructing a two-lane highway for section 2 of Third Development Axis – North from junction Velenje South to junction Slovenj Gradec South in the total length of 17.2 kilometres, the first step in improving regional mobility will be made, namely by connecting secondary and tertiary traffic hubs with the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) infrastructure, also through multimodal hubs. The project documents are already being designed and are planned to be fully developed by fall 2022.
In the financial perspective 2014-2020, Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy has thus far approved over EUR 103 million in EU funds for motorways, bypasses and highways throughout Slovenia. Namely, EUR 63.5 million in EU funds for the motorway between Draženci and the international border crossing Gruškovje, with the rest of the EU funds being approved for the bypass in Krško, the southern bypass in Murska Sobota, the bypass Kidričevo, the connecting road Ljubečna–Celje East motorway junction, the reconstruction of the Cerknica-Bloška Polica road and the preparation of documentation for the Third Development Axis, i.e. for the southern Slovenj Gradec bypass and section (1) from the Malina junction to the Metlika international border crossing, and to the Črnomelj South junction and (2) from the Velenje South junction to the Slovenj Gradec South junction.
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