During a dedicated press conference with the Minister of Infrastructure, and special government plenipotentiary for the construction of the central airport Maciej Lasek, Prime Minister Donald Tusk presented a “new, realistic vision” for continuing the Central Communication Port (CPK) airport hub project. So what’s new in that plan? Less new railroads, smaller airport and faster trains. 

Donald Tusk announced the new formula for the continuation of the construction of the Central Communication Port in Baranów, Poland. He stated that the investment would be a “triple jump into modernity” and would respond to the challenges na needs of Poland of the 21st century. According to the new estimates, the CPK is to be ready for use in 2032, although in a different formula than announced by the previous PiS government.

“This project is on the mat, not much has happened there physically. But some people made a lot of money. Today, the total cost of CPK is PLN 2 billion and 700 million,” said the head of government, criticising the investment in its previous form. 

But apart from political malice, what are the main changes to the project? First of all – the new airport will be significantly smaller than it was planned before (40 million passengers per year). As Donald Tusk announced on Wednesday – the first stage of the construction of the “new CPK” is to be calculated for a maximum of 34 million passengers per year, with the possibility of future expansion.

The new plan foresees the final construction of the airport in Baranów to be completed in 2031. After obtaining all consents, permits, acceptances and certifications, the first CPK planes are to take off in 2032. The new government maintains the schedule planned for 2028 by their predecessors.

The train component will also face changes as the new idea is to create “100 minutes” public transport transfer from all major cities in Poland. Tusk called that plan a “Megalopolis” that will connect the entire country to the project. That is a collapse of the previous, so-called, “spokes doctrine”, aimed at building new railroads which all connect in the central location of the airport. The new government plans to invest more in fast railroad connections with trains travelling at 300 km/h (190 mph) to the biggest cities and then connecting those metropolises to smaller towns. Experts indicate that such investment will exclude Polish train producers from entering the contracts, and medium-sized cities with insufficient infrastructure for fast rail.  

Tusk also said the Chopin Airport in Okęcie, Warsaw will still operate together with the new one in Baranów but shall be prepared for the role of a “new type airport” concerning new technologies like flying drone taxis. The planned modernisation of the facility shall bring some 10 million more passengers to Chopin Airport in a few years. 

The new plans were criticised by experts and commentators. 

The “Tak dla CPK” (“Yes for CPK”) initiative issued a statement in which they criticise most of the changes regarding the railroad component and scale of the airport project. 

Popular Polish newspaper “Rzeczpospolita” writes in harsh criticism: “By calling the project of the new CPK a “megalopolis” and subordinating it to the interests of Warsaw and several big cities, Donald Tusk returns to the unfortunate policy of his previous term: financing only the cities in which the government has the greatest support, condemning the eastern part of the country to vegetation.”

On the other hand, the ruling coalition MP Zbigniew Konwiński says the new idea is “…adapted to the needs of Poles and Poland” and constitutes “a new idea for transport development”.

The information about further development of the Warsaw Chopin Airport might also work negatively for the participation of foreign investors. As media reports show, one of the investing companies, Vinci SA, made it clear that the future closure of Warsaw’s Okęcie is their condition to participate in the project of a new airport. However, the government declared it wants to continue the cooperation with foreign investors in that project.  

Author: Tomasz Modrzejewski

Source: money.pl, Polsat News

Photo: X @MacVVilk