Meanwhile, PLN 90 billion would be channelled into investment funds intended to support long-term development projects, he said.
"Many questions have been raised about the recovery fund and how we are managing the spending," Tusk said.
"Some suggest the money is disappearing or sinking somewhere into the budget," he added, addressing critics of his government.
"So far, PLN 68 billion has been paid out to those who have completed their investment projects," he told reporters.
Tusk described the unblocking of EU recovery funds in early 2024 as one of his government’s key achievements.
Poland's access to the money had previously been frozen by the European Union because of rule-of-law disputes with the former right-wing government led by the Law and Justice (PiS) party.
The prime minister said Poland's recovery plan is worth a total of PLN 240 billion, adding that more than PLN 30 billion is expected to be distributed in 2027.
"Our predecessors wasted a great deal of time, and there was a real risk Poland would not receive this money at all," Tusk said.
He added that some projects prepared by the previous administration had to be revised because they were either "unworkable" or "contrary to Poland’s interests."
Tusk outlined a series of investment projects financed through the recovery programme, including the creation of 18,000 nursery places, mostly in towns that previously lacked such facilities, the thermal modernisation of 200,000 homes and support for 117 libraries and cultural centres.
He said the funds had also helped provide high-speed internet access to 211,000 households and supported more than 1,000 social economy organisations.
Infrastructure projects financed under the programme include 11 bypass roads and rail projects involving the purchase of 228 locomotives and rail cars manufactured domestically, Tusk said.
The government has also financed the purchase of 500 city buses and the creation of 120 vocational skills centres aimed at preparing young people for the labour market, he added.
Part of the funding has been directed toward security and strategic infrastructure through a Security and Defence Fund, including financing for shelters and protective infrastructure, Tusk said.
Recovery funds are also supporting offshore wind energy projects, the expansion of an LNG terminal and gas pipeline infrastructure in the Baltic city of Gdańsk, as well as port projects in the coastal towns of Łeba, Darłowo and Ustka.
Tusk said that after renegotiating the programme with Brussels, Poland secured an additional PLN 10 billion for local investment projects and PLN 22 billion for security-related projects.
Poland’s National Recovery Plan includes 57 investment projects and 54 reforms, officials say.
Poland is set to receive around EUR 54.7 billion in total under the EU programme, including EUR 25.3 billion in grants and EUR 29.4 billion in preferential loans.
The European Commission in February 2024 said it was unblocking up to EUR 137 billion in aid for Poland under the bloc’s post-pandemic recovery and cohesion policy funds, calling the move "a landmark day" for the country.
The Commission says the previous government, which was in power from 2015 to 2023, brought courts and judges under political control and undermined democratic checks and balances.
Legal changes introduced by the conservative PiS party and its allies put Poland on a collision course with the European Union and triggered a series of disputes between Warsaw and Brussels.
As a result, the EU executive withheld billions in funds intended for Poland under the bloc’s post-pandemic recovery package and cohesion policy.
Tusk's pro-EU government pledged to restore judicial independence and persuaded Brussels to unfreeze the funds.
The European Commission last month approved Poland's request for a EUR 7.2 billion payment under the recovery programme, clearing the way for the latest tranche.
The Commission said it had "positively assessed Poland’s fourth payment request" under the National Recovery Plan following the satisfactory completion of "30 milestones and 13 targets."
The approval was conditional on reforms including expanding the powers of the State Labour Inspectorate to better protect workers, according to Poland’s PAP news agency.
Funds and Regional Policy Minister Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz said the money, requested in December, is expected to be transferred on June 1.