Speaking earlier this week, Tusk said: “After years of talk about the need for a major airport in central Poland, the process is finally starting."
He added that Polish construction companies would benefit from the contracts.
The state-owned CPK company is expected to issue tenders worth PLN 30 billion (EUR 7 billion) this year alone, including not only the terminal construction but also a new high-speed rail line, known as Line 85 or the “Y” route, linking Warsaw, the future airport and the central city of Łódź.
Warsaw and Łódź are already well connected, with passengers now able to count the 60- to 90-minute journey as a commute.
Earlier this month, the CPK company issued a separate tender for engineering work on a three-kilometer section of high-speed rail in the Łódź district of Retkinia.
Altogether, the company has launched around 60 tenders this year, totaling over PLN 8.3 billion.
Created to deliver Poland’s most ambitious infrastructure plan in decades, the CPK company is responsible for building the new hub airport, along with a network of new highways, express roads and railways.
The company operates under the supervision of the government’s commissioner for the CPK project, Maciej Lasek, who also serves as a deputy infrastructure minister.
The new hub airport in Baranów, west of Warsaw, is initially designed to handle 34 million passengers annually, with the possibility of modular expansion based on projected growth.
Construction is set to begin in 2026, with the airport aiming to open in 2032, alongside the first stretch of high-speed rail linking the capital with the airport and Łódź.
The ambitious investment project is expected to cost PLN 131.7 billion (EUR 31 billion) by 2032.
Last year, all of Poland's airports handled nearly 60 million passengers, according to data reported by the country's Civil Aviation Authority (ULC).
Separately, the CPK company has also invited three European companies – Vanderlande Industries, Siemens Logistics, and Beumer Group Poland – to submit bids for the design, delivery and installation of the airport’s baggage handling system.
The tender process follows an earlier competitive dialogue and gives the shortlisted firms 60 days to submit offers.
The baggage system will occupy some 80,000 square meters in the terminal, with over 13 kilometers of conveyor belts.
It will use the Individual Carrier System (ICS) model, which transports baggage in individual containers, allowing for easier modular expansion.
Lasek called the baggage handling system “the heart of any airport,” adding: “Our operational requirements are defined with passengers in mind – we’re demanding the highest standards both in performance and in long-term maintenance.”
Lasek said in early May that Warsaw's Chopin Airport would undergo a major expansion to strengthen its role as Poland’s main international gateway ahead of the completion of the new hub airport.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, biznes.pap.pl