Country Overviews
Introduction
The principal body responsible for transport research in the Slovak Republic (SR) is the Ministry of Transport, Post and Telecommunications (MDPT SR). Transport research other than that managed and funded by the Ministry is negligible.
National research programmes in the SR follow a centralised structure, with transport programmes incorporated into the government’s general research policies.
In 2005 the Slovak government passed the Transport Policy of the Slovak Republic up to 2015 which defines the global objective and several specific objectives, including particular transport measures to ensure sustainable mobility, conceived as long-term ensuring of society’s constantly growing transportation needs, along with the reduction of negative impacts of traffic on the environment.
According to this transport policy the Slovak Republic is focusing primarily on the rapid completion and upgrade of traffic infrastructure, especially an integrated road infrastructure system, and the upgrade of the main railways. This orientation is a consequence of the Keynote Address of the Slovak Government for the years 2006-2010, which contains several specific tasks in the field of traffic infrastructure development.
Recent levels of expenditure on traffic infrastructure in developed EU countries represents approximately 2% of GDP while in Slovakia these expenses account for approximately 1.5% of GDP. Therefore it is necessary for traffic infrastructure development to be financed from multiple sources besides public resources, including EU funds, credits and private resources as well as from a road pricing system.
Since the reorganisation of the research institutions of the SR, transport research is mainly executed by the Transport Research Institute in Zilina (VÚD). Since 2000, the preferred financing system for research projects has been a “grant system”, where all funding comes from the earmarked funds of the MDPT SR
National Government Departments
Ministry of Transport, Post and Telecommunication of the Slovak Republic (MDPT SR) / Ministerstvo dopravy, post a telekomunik‡ci’ Slovenskej Republiky
The Research Programme of Ministry of Transport, Post and Telecommunication of the Slovak Republic for the years 2005-2015
Main themes are the building of the information society, development of ITS/telematics, development of progressive technologies for an efficient economy, regional development, transport harmonisation, ensuring transport service, logistics, interoperability, mobility innovations, fuels and energies, solutions oriented towards using new technologies and materials for traffic infrastructure development.
