Poland: EIB support to road and rail infrastructure gives a boost to Baltic-Adriatic corridors

• EUR 300m loan to Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego for the completion of the A1 motorway via the upgrading of the Tuszyn-Czestochowa section
• EUR 400m loan to Polskie Linie Kolejowe for the modernisation of the Poznan-Szczecin section  of the E59 railway network
• Both projects are part of the strategic transport networks designed to improve north-south connections in Europe.

A1 motorway Tuszyn-Czestochowa section

The A1 motorway, connecting north and south Poland, will soon be completed, partly thanks to a EUR 300m loan provided by the European Investment bank (EIB) to Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), acting on behalf of the National Road Fund (NRF). The 81 km-long section of the highway between Tuszyn and Czestochowa in central and southern Poland will be upgraded to motorway standard and will thus form part of the broader A1 motorway route from the Baltic Coast to the border with the Czech Republic. The works are organised through the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA).

The financing agreement for the final stretch of this key motorway was signed today in Warsaw.

“Road and railway transport corridors in Europe are well developed east-west, while they are less developed north-south. For this reason, the EIB, as the bank of the European Union, supports projects that help bridge this gap”, said EIB Vice-President Vazil Hudák. “The completion of the A1 motorway will be an important milestone for the road transport system in Poland and for the whole Baltic-Adriatic corridor in Europe. Poland will enjoy more fluid north-south traffic, which will benefit both its domestic and international road transport viability”, he added.   

Włodzimierz Kocon, Vice-President of BGK, added: “Since 2004, the construction of almost all national roads in Poland, including motorways, expressways and city beltways, has been undertaken with the participation of the National Road Fund managed by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego, the national promotional bank. Over the past 15 years, total NRF expenditure on road construction in Poland amounted to PLN 144bn, which translated into co-financing of the construction of over 1,200 km of motorway sections and 1,900 km of expressway sections”.

The Baltic-Adriatic corridor is part of the Trans-European Transport Network – TEN-T – supported by the European Union. The EU bank has been financing road modernisation projects in Poland within the TEN-T network for more than 10 years and has already committed financing for both the northern and southern sections of the A1 motorway.

E59 railway Poznan-Szczecin section

The European Investment Bank has also signed an important operation with PLK Polskie Linie Kolejowe, Poland’s operator of the national railway network infrastructure. For the modernisation of the Poznan-Szczecin (195 km) section of the E59 railway line, which is also located on the core TEN-T Baltic-Adriatic corridor, and runs from north to south in the western part of Poland, a EUR 400m loan was signed in two tranches between April (EUR 140m) and this week (EUR 260m).

“The EIB and PLK have been cooperating on dozens of projects over the past few years and this one is yet another example of how Poland’s railways network is being steadily modernised with EU support, including in a north-south direction. The EIB is happy to support Poland in developing a modern and balanced transport system. While improving roads and motorways, it is equally important to also modernise rail infrastructure, as this has an additional positive impact on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions”, said Vazil Hudák. 

Besides the EIB loans, both road and railway TEN-T projects have benefited from substantial EU grants, providing important financing for the total costs of the projects.