Prosecutors in Poland will open an investigation into suspected negligence by public officials who in the 1990s granted a concession for the construction of a motorway in western Poland, the country’s justice minister has said.

Investigators will check why the toll on a section of the A2 motorway is “so high” today, Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro told public broadcaster TVP Info.

After a hike in January, the toll on a 150-kilometre stretch of the motorway between the junctions of Konin and Nowy Tomyśl is PLN 60 (EUR 14.30), or 0.40 PLN (EUR 0.10) per kilometre, making it "the most expensive motorway in Europe," TVP Info reported.

The investigators will set out to determine under what circumstances the concession agreement for the construction and operation of the motorway was signed, Ziobro said on Sunday. They will also look into the role of former government officials in the deal, he added.

The motorway stretch in question is operated by Autostrada Wielkopolska, a company controlled by the family of the late billionaire Jan Kulczyk.

(gs/pk)

Source: TVP Info, IAR