Poland: EIB boosts construction of crucial motorway with EUR 250m loan

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending EUR 250 million to Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) for the construction of a further section of the A1 – a motorway of prime importance for Poland.

Thanks to the EIB loan, a 144 km section of dual two-lane tolled motorway on a new alignment from Toruń to Stryków along with associated access roads in central Poland is being constructed. This is the second tranche of the EIB finance for the development of this section: the Bank previously provided for this purpose a loan of EUR 350 million.

“EIB funds will help to eliminate bottlenecks and reduce travel time on one of the main Polish motorways by providing additional capacity and contributing to improved travel quality and safety. Ultimately, this will strengthen the economic competitiveness of Poland and increase the quality of life of Polish citizens”, said Mr László Baranyay, EIB Vice-President responsible for lending in Poland.

“Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, in its capacity as the state development bank of Poland, carries out activities mandated by the government. This loan providing funds for the construction of another section of the A1 motorway fits perfectly into BGK’s strategy, which assumes our intensified presence in the sector of transport infrastructure development”, explained BGK’s President Mr Dariusz Kacprzyk.

The project belongs to a wider programme of the overall development of 580 km of the A1 motorway, which is part of the priority trans-European network (TEN-T) corridors – crucial axes utilised for the transport of some 80% of passengers and goods in the European Union. The A1 motorway links the Baltic Sea across Poland to the Czech Republic and Slovakia to Austria. It will provide a modern transit connection between Gdańsk and Vienna via Katowice and Brno.

The Polish transport sector is the major beneficiary of EIB loans in the country. Since 1990 the EIB’s co-financing of transport projects has accounted for some 40% of its lending commitments in Poland over this period. The Bank has so far financially supported various projects related to the construction of new sections of the A1, A2, A4 and A6 motorways and major national roads along Pan-European Corridors II, III and VI.

The EIB support provides high financial value added to BGK by making available long-term financial resources at a lower funding cost. BGK, on behalf of the National Road Fund of the Republic of Poland, is the borrower and the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) of Poland is the promoter of the project.