Construction of the biggest transport hub investment in Poland to start in 2026
Illustration: CPK

Construction of the biggest transport hub investment in Poland to start in 2026

04/10/2024
Source of information: Newseria Biznes

According to the Newseria news agency, intensive work is currently underway on designs for the terminal and operational parts of the new central airport. CPK is focusing on the acquisition of land and a voluntary acquisition programme. A decision on the location of the airport is expected by the end of the year and, if the process goes smoothly, construction could begin in 2026.

Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK) is a strategic investment aimed at creating a modern national transport system that efficiently integrates air, rail and road transport.

Dr Filip Czernicki, President of the Central Communication Port, emphasises that integrating such major investments as the construction of the airport, high-speed rail and access roads will be a huge challenge, including in terms of staff. The state of the main carrier, LOT Polish Airlines, will also play an important role.

Our current priority is the acquisition of real estate, particularly through the Voluntary Acquisition Programme, which allows landowners to sell on favourable terms. The aim is to acquire as much land as possible for the future airport in the next six months,’ says Czernicki.

The Voluntary Acquisition Programme is based on the voluntary nature of the parties and the value of the land will be determined by independent valuers. The land for CPK is located to the west of Warsaw, in the area of Żyrardów, Grodzisk Mazowiecki and Sochaczew.

At the same time, intensive design work is underway. Foster + Partners is working with Buro Happold on the terminal design, while Dar Al-Handasah is responsible for the airside section, including taxiways and aprons. This work is expected to be completed next year in time for the building permit application to be submitted.

The contract with the consortium of Foster + Partners and Buro Happold Limited was signed in 2022. The consortium’s main tasks include the design of the passenger terminal building, the railway station and the transport hub. Dar Al-Handasah’s main tasks will include the multi-disciplinary design documentation of the technical infrastructure, including runways and taxiways, aprons, airport systems, networks and links, and engineering facilities. According to a recent announcement by CPK, the design of support facilities, including the air traffic control tower, is underway. A competitive dialogue is also underway for the Baggage Handling System (BHS).

The public consultation on the Horizontal Timetable, a train scheduling tool, runs until 13 October. The aim is to create a modern, integrated system of rail connections in Poland, including both national and regional operators. As part of the ‘Y’ line, trains will reach speeds of up to 320 km/h and the journey from Warsaw to Wroclaw will be reduced to 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Given the scale of the project, the construction of the infrastructure poses significant challenges, such as the shortage of skilled labour and the need for adequate logistics. According to Czernicki, the success of the port will also depend on the strengthening of LOT, which will need to expand its fleet and operations to support the growth in connecting traffic at the new hub.

CPK recently awarded a contract for the design of the first phase of the rail hub. The scope of work includes a section of the Warsaw-Lodz high-speed rail line (Line 85), which will pass underneath the airport.

When the work is completed in 2032, the journey between the two cities is expected to take 40 minutes, and three years later it will be possible to travel from Warsaw to Wroclaw in 1 hour 40 minutes. The “Y” line is also expected to reduce journey times on other routes, such as Wroclaw-Lublin and Warsaw-Szczecin. Once the railway modernisation is complete, trains in Poland are expected to carry around 500 million passengers a year. The total investment will be around PLN 80 billion.

CPK is the largest infrastructure investment of its kind in Europe. It is an undertaking not only in terms of resources, but also in terms of innovative and cutting-edge technologies. The investment will not only create jobs for Polish companies, but also for companies from all over the world, even though the airport is primarily a hub for Central and Eastern Europe, with no competition. On the other hand, in terms of the ‘Y’, CPK connects the transport corridors of Central and Eastern Europe with the countries of the Baltic republics, so it will be the key to integration,” stresses Dr Filip Czernicki.

However, there are a number of challenges associated with such a large undertaking. The first fundamental one is the accumulation of such large infrastructure investments at the same time. In addition to the construction of the airport itself, the A2 motorway between Warsaw and Łódź will be extended and new lanes added. The tender for the investment is expected to be announced in 2025.

The scale of the investment, which is accumulating all at once, will involve all companies and all resources in the country, in terms of materials, human resources, even feeder roads for these materials and railway sidings. There is also a human resources component. In order for the airport to be operational in 2032, we will have to train several thousand new cadres by then,” says the CPK president. The current staff at Chopin Airport will, of course, be the core resource of the future airport, but it is important to remember that these people are retiring, and not all of them will want to move to a new location. And it will be a completely new infrastructure, we will need completely new staff, so it will take a long time to train these professionals.

The state of Polskie Linie Lotnicze will be important for the operation of the new airport. LOT’s new strategy for 2024-2028 envisages that by the end of this period the company will own 110 aircraft, carry 16.9 million passengers and generate revenue of PLN 17 billion. Ultimately, the fleet at CPK is expected to grow to 135 aircraft, twice as many as today.