“We have been preparing for the reorganisation of the road financing for several months – public consultations, discussions with the representatives of municipalities and other interested parties took place. Having taken into account their needs and problems, we suggest a simpler and clearer road infrastructure financing system, which will facilitate the planning and more efficient use of the funds allocated for the road infrastructure, avoiding politicisation in the decision-making process to the extent possible and increasing the total financing for local roads to all the municipalities without exception. The main objective is transparency of financing,” says Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis.
For the first time, it is aimed to plan the RMDP funds for a period of three years rather than one year – it is suggested that the Government would approve the three-year financing of the programme after the Ministry of Transport and Communications submits it. This will allow a simpler planning of road infrastructure projects and reduce the risk of inefficient use of the RMDP funds. This programme’s fund administration system defines the criteria for selecting road objects, the procedures and their implementation more clearly.
Once the RMDP financing is reorganised, the Budget Law will no longer provide for target financing for individual projects, and the RMDP fund reserve, whose allocation procedure has been criticised due to political decisions, will also cease to exist. The programme’s financing system is being simplified – it is suggested to allocate all its funds according to the proportions established by the Law on the Financing of the RMDP: to allocate 67 % of the programme’s funds for state roads, and to allocate 33 % for local roads. It is suggested to allocate 9 % of the financing for local roads to road objects of local importance, which are significant to the State.
Municipalities will gain more independence in using the RMDP funds after implementing the recommendations of the National Audit Office. They will be obliged to use the funds according to a clear procedure based on transparent criteria, so that the infrastructure managers and society would be aware of the reasons and motives of investment decisions. There is currently no procedure for the allocation and use of funds for local roads based on such criteria in some municipalities. The new financing system establishes that the municipalities will have to approve their procedure for the allocation and use of the package of RMDP funds and to prepare public priority lists, on which the implementation of projects would be based.
Upon approval by the Government, the amendments to the Law on the Financing of the RMDP will be submitted to the Seimas for consideration. It is expected that once the members of parliament approve it, the new state road financing system could be implemented starting the beginning of 2022.
Currently, as much as 38 % of all state roads do not meet the pavement condition index. Last year, 73 bridges and viaducts in state roads were in poor condition.
This year, EUR 531 mln. have been allocated for the RMDP. The total length of Lithuanian roads is 85.5 thousand km, and Lithuania ranks 2nd in the European Union in terms of the total length of roads per capita.
