The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 200 million for the construction of priority sections of expressways and bypasses identified in Poland's National Road Programme.
The loan is being provided to the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), which manages the National Road Fund (NRF) on behalf of the State Treasury. The NRF is expected to be the main source of funding for new road investments in Poland, mainly in the motorway network. The General Directorate of National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) will be the final beneficiary of the loan.
The total cost of the project is estimated to reach EUR 615 million. The EIB financing will complement funds from the EU and other public sources. Currently, fifteen priority sub-projects have already been identified and appraised. Examples include: S22 expressway Elblag-Grzechotki, S8 expressway Radzymin-Wyszkow, and bypasses around Pulawy, Gniezno and Wadowice, etc. All the schemes are expected to be completed by 2009.
The National Road Programme also identifies the priority motorways to be constructed in the coming years. At present, the EIB is considering a new loan of up to EUR 500 million to finance the construction and renovation of motorway sections on TEN corridors included in the National Road Programme - A1 motorway (Maciejow-Sosnica-Gorzyczki), A4 motorway (Zgorzelec-Krzyzowa) and A6 motorway (Klucz-Kijewo).
The EIB is an important source of finance for the upgrading of the Polish transport sector and development of the modern transport infrastructure needed for the full participation of the country in the EU single market. To date, the Bank has provided some EUR 4.5 billion (approximately 40% of the total lending extended in Poland) for the implementation of transport projects. The East-West A2 Motorway between Nowy Tomysl and Konin and A1 motorway from Gdansk to Nowe Marzy are the most significant motorway projects financed by the Bank so far.
Financing projects contributing to social and economic cohesion in the EU is the key activity of the EIB. As the financing institution of the EU, the EIB frequently co-finances projects supported by grants from the EU Structural and Cohesion Funds. As the whole territory of Poland consists of priority regional development areas, the average annual growth rate of EIB activities has reached 25% in recent years.
The Bank has provided loans worth EUR 11.5 billion for projects in Poland since 1990, representing approximately one third of EIB lending in central and eastern Europe over this period.