The Polish government has secured investment to begin construction of its mega hub airport, New Central Polish Airport, after 17 years of planning. Also known as the Central Communication Port or Solidarity Transport Hub, the new airport will complement Warsaw Chopin Airport, which is nearing capacity.
Poland and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2021 outlining the joint financing and the new airport’s commitment to providing a minority stake to the Incheon International Airport Corporation.
Furthermore, following a selective bid for strategic investors, Vinci Airports, an airport developer, financier and constructor; and IFM Global Infrastructure Fund, an investment services firm, were selected, reported centreforaviation.com.
Breaking ground
Traffic to and from the airport will be supported by surrounding rail and road infrastructure, which will break ground by the end of this year. The Polish Infrastructure Ministry approved the airport’s construction in June.
The airport and 530km of the 1 600km of railway lines surrounding it are scheduled for completion by 2027. Operations are expected to commence by 2028, while the remaining part of the railway component will be completed by 2034.
The transport hub, costing an estimated $9bn (R164bn), will cover a 400 000sqm commune just 40km from Warsaw and will be able to accommodate 40 million passengers annually by 2035 and 65 million by 2060, reported simpleflying.com.
However, adding an extensive railway network to connect the airport to the city may increase investment to over $30bn (R546,5bn), reports thesun.co.uk.
