Ferrovial has been selected as part of the consortium preferred by the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Transport to deliver a section of the D35 motorway under a public-private partnership. The project covers design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance, with the contract valued at 71.32 billion Czech korunas.
Preferred bidder status follows technical and economic evaluation
Ferrovial is participating through its motorway division, Cintra, and its Polish subsidiary Budimex. The consortium also includes Strabag and Inversis, and submitted the offer judged strongest by the bidders’ evaluation on both economic and technical grounds. The Czech Ministry of Transport selected the group as preferred bidder for the project. The source describes a preferred-bidder decision rather than confirming that the final contract has been signed, so the announcement marks a significant procurement stage without establishing that delivery is complete or that all contractual conditions have been concluded.
The concession combines new construction with existing-road operations
The project covers the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of two new D35 sections: Opatovec–Staré Město and Staré Město–Mohelnice. Together, they total 35.4 kilometres. The contract also includes operation and maintenance of the adjacent 17-kilometre section between Litomyšl and Opatovec, bringing the total network managed under the concession to about 52 kilometres. The infrastructure will include two tunnels, measuring 4 kilometres and 1.3 kilometres respectively. The D35 is intended to strengthen connections between Bohemia and Moravia and ease congestion on the I/35 and D1 routes.
Availability payments shift traffic demand risk
The concession is scheduled to last 28 years from financial close and will use a payment-by-availability system, without traffic risk for the consortium. In this model, the procurement links payment to the infrastructure being available for use and maintained under the contract, rather than making the private partner’s return depend directly on the number of vehicles using the road. That allocation is central to understanding the arrangement: the private consortium takes responsibility for financing, delivery, operation and maintenance, while the project is not presented as a toll concession exposed to traffic volumes. The source gives no further payment formula or performance deductions.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Project value | 71.32 billion Czech korunas (€2.923 billion) |
| New motorway sections | 35.4 kilometres |
| Total network managed | About 52 kilometres |
| Concession duration | 28 years from financial close |
| Tunnel lengths | 4 kilometres and 1.3 kilometres |
| Payment model | Payment by availability, without traffic risk |
The concession will last 28 years from financial close and use a payment-by-availability system, without traffic risk.
WHY IT MATTERS
The D35 procurement illustrates how a public-private partnership can bundle design, private financing, construction and long-term maintenance in one concession. Its payment-by-availability structure also shows how a public authority can avoid placing traffic-volume risk directly on the private partner, while retaining a long-term contract for road availability and upkeep.
Reported from expansion.com, 2026-10-06. The Tender Wire is published by Otnox.
