By the middle of 2019, we will have drawn down all European money for transport infrastructure12/6/2017|Press releasesWe are building where we can and spend the highest amounts of money in history on the preparation of new motorways, so the European money will soon have been drawn down. This is what the Minister of Transport Dan Ťok said at the meeting of the leaders of the Czech construction industry. "During this year and next year, we will launch a number of major projects, including eight new motorway construction projects, for which we draw European money. We must realise that by mid-2019 we will no longer have these resources to launch new infrastructure projects and will have to use only Czech money," said Minister Ťok. The Ministry of Transport has now spent CZK 15.5 billion from OPD II ( Operational Programme Transport). This year, the ministry plans to use 25 billion, so by the end of this year about one third of the entire transport programme for the years 2014-2020 will have been spent. "We have always been able to find money and it would be a pity to stop rolling construction machine. It makes sense for the state to even take a loan instead of stopping the projects," the minister added. The D11 motorway between Hradec Králové and Jaroměř and the D35 in sections Časy – Ostrov and Opatovice nad Labem – Časy are the closest ones to construction commencement. Here, construction should start already in the autumn of this year. Other priority projects are the D6 in sections Lubenec – bypass, Nové Strašecí – Řevnicov and Řevničov – bypass, D48 – bypass Frýdek-Místek, D49 in section Hulín – Fryšták, D55 Otrokovice – south-east bypass and modernisation of railway track Sudoměřice – Votice. The preparation of some construction projects is challenged by property settlements, such as a lawsuit between the State Land Office and the Church regarding the D11 between Smiřice and Jaroměř on the sale of affected land or a dispute with landowners on the price of land sold under the expropriation process under the D55 motorway in the south-east bypass of Otrokovice. For most priority construction projects, the building permit application has already been filed or will shorty be filed.