Premier: Main Railway Station Building in Bratislava Set for Complete Renovation

Bratislava, 14 January (TASR) - The main railway station building in Bratislava will undergo "total" reconstruction, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated on Wednesday following the away-from-home government session held in the Bratislava borough of Petrzalka, which focused on the needs and development of the capital city. According to him, the renovation of the railway station building is a topic that has received significant attention during discussions with local government representatives. He also announced that the state will take care of the reconstruction of the station building. "The transport minister [Jozef Raz (a Smer-SD nominee)] has made this an absolute priority, and the building will undergo a complete renovation," said the premier. The transport minister added that the renovation of social facilities will take place this year. "We're about to sign the contract, and the project documentation for the [station building] reconstruction will definitely be contracted this year," he announced, praising the fact that the ministry has been successful in finding money from EU funds for the planned purposes. According to him, the restoration of the wider area around the station should be the responsibility of Bratislava city council. "It was the only way forward. The discussions on how to integrate it with the square in front of the building took an awfully long time, so we decided to take matters into our own hands, with the mayor [of Bratislava, Matus Vallo] taking care of his part," added Raz. After the meeting, the mayor of Bratislava confirmed the promise made by the government members, adding that it's important to revitalise the entire area, which includes the main station and its wider hinterland and surroundings. am/df