Poland to press ahead with multibillion euro airport

WARSAW (AFP): Poland will press ahead with the construction of a multibillion-euro airport project, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Wednesday, following years of delays.

The long-awaited airport project, to be built in the centre of the country between the capital Warsaw and Lodz, “will be the most modern in Europe,” Tusk said.

According to the Polish leader, Baranow Airport is expected to cost around 10 billion euros ($10.6 billion) while the entire project and accompanying infrastructure will require around 30.5 billion euros.

It will be financed by treasury bonds, loans, European funds and private investors.

The project was initially expected to be opened in 2027, however, it accumulated delays due to various reasons including lawmakers who opposed the “enormity” of it.

Tusk said the new airport — located 42 kilometres (26 miles) from the Warsaw — will be built under a new downsized plan.

It is expected to open in 2032 and will handle 34 million passengers a year.

Polish carrier LOT by then is forecast to have 135 aircraft of various sizes at its disposal, almost double the current number, and will be able to account for around 60 percent of the traffic at the new airport.

A high-speed rail network will also be built by 2035 to link Poland’s major cities and airports.

Poland, a country of 38 million people, “will become a major megalopolis”, with the possibility of reaching all the country’s major cities in less than 100 minutes, Tusk said.