Completion of Prague’s outer ring-road connecting the D1 motorway with Běchovice town to the north should be in 2024, a year earlier than planned.
Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš made the announcement, saying the 2025 date set by the Czech Highway Authority was too far off, according to local media.
The national Czech News Agency reported that the 12.5km section will cost around €365 million.
Transport minister Vladimíra Kremlík said that the state will have to acquire land from up to 500 land owners but he also noted that there has been some resistance from some landowners to sell their land.
Around 40km of the planned 83km ring-road – also denoted the D0 motorway - has been completed. It was formerly called the R1 Expressway and the first section was opened in the 1980s. One section runs from Prague’s international Ruzyně Airport to the interchange with the D1.