Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala opened the country’s first motorway procured through a public-private partnership (PPP) this week after a €530m project Vinci Construction started just under four years ago.

The tolled, 48km section of the D4 motorway links the South Bohemian town of Pisek to Pribram in Central Bohemia – some 65km south of Prague – giving a faster connection from the rural south to trade routes to Germany and Austria.

The concession company, a 50:50 joint venture between Vinci and Meridiam, signed a 28-year contract to finance, build, and operate the motorway in February 2021

Vinci Highways will maintain it for the next 24 years.

The project saw Vinci build 32km of new road widen 16km of existing road, employing around 1,600 people at peak of construction.

Vinci said it reused excavated materials and recycled asphalt. The motorway also has 20 wildlife crossings; 40 hectares of roadside were planted with local species.

Opening the road on Tuesday, 17 December, Prime Minister Fiala noted that the new section lets drivers avoid the dangerous Lety u Písku intersection, and would end what he called “the traditional Friday and Sunday traffic jams around Milín”.

He also praised the PPP procurement route.

“In the next ten years, we need to invest trillions of [Czech koruna] in the development of transport infrastructure. To secure these funds, we are also counting on greater involvement of private capital in other projects on motorways and railways,” he said.