Slovakia’s transport sector has notsuffered from the dramatic reductions in demand and neglectof its infrastructure that have afflicted many of itsneighbors. However, current under-maintenance is eating awayat the stock of transport infrastructure and isunsustainable in anything more than the very short term. Inaddition, despite good intentions, progress oncommercializing its transport operations has not progressedfar enough to put them in a strong position to confront thepressures they will face when Slovakia enters the EuropeanUnion, hopefully at the beginning of 2004. There is now ashort window of opportunity to make good on deferredmaintenance, establish a more sustainable maintenance regimeand make good on the previous good intentions forcommercialization. The opportunity exists also for theinstitutional structure of the sector to be revised so as tobetter reflect the interests of transport users, reform theway that infrastructure is financed and to systematicallyeliminate the remaining regulatory protections given toexisting operators. The Strategy presented here shows howthese objectives can best be reached, and how the World Bankcan help bring them about. If the Strategy is implemented,action will have been taken before there is a problem andorder will have been introduced before disorder takes over.
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