Private Toll Operator Posts Record Profits as Slovakia Quietly Extends Lucrative Contract

SkyToll, the private company operating Slovakia's national highway toll system, recorded its highest profits in five years last year, even as politicians had long promised to end the arrangement — a commitment that has quietly gone unfulfilled. Despite repeated pledges by Slovak politicians to reform or terminate the contract, authorities instead signed the 70th amendment to SkyToll's agreement, extending the company's privileged position managing the toll collection infrastructure. The firm's profits reached a five-year record, drawing renewed criticism from road users frustrated by unfinished motorway construction across the country. SkyToll has operated Slovakia's electronic toll system for heavy vehicles under a long-running contract that critics have for years described as an example of insider dealings between the state and private business. The contract — which has now been amended 70 times — has repeatedly come under scrutiny from opposition politicians and transparency advocates who argue the state is overpaying for a service it could operate itself or procure under more competitive terms. The latest profit figures are likely to intensify those calls, particularly amid broader public discontent over the slow pace of road infrastructure development in Slovakia.