Solidarity Transport Hub will create new transport system for Poland

The Solidarity Transport Hub (STH) is going to create a new transport system for Poland with the international airport at the centre, high-speed train lines and several new roads. Marcin Horała, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure and government plenipotentiary for the Solidarity Transport Hub was talking with TVP World about the scale and scope of investment in the projected transportation system.

The total value of the project is estimated at EUR 50 billion and the beginning of construction works is scheduled for next year. The first flights are expected to leave the new airport in 2029, while some of the train lines will be operational two years earlier. The investment, which is described as long-term, will be finalised in 2034.

“We are going to reach 40 million passengers from the biggest Polish airport quite quickly. But the business break-even point is around 22-23 million passengers and Chopin Airport in Warsaw handled in 2019 almost 20 million passengers,” Horała said.

CPK will be the first of this kind and size in Eastern Europe. It may serve as a hub for long-distance flights to Asia and the Americas similar to the ones in Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Munich. It will also fulfil Poland’s need for a world-class transportation system and boost investment potential for the country.

“It is estimated to create around 300,000 new jobs, well-paid, highly-specialised jobs and will bring an additional PLN 1 billion to Polish GDP. The train systems will be interconnected to the Baltic states and V4 countries. In the future, one of Ukraine's rebuilding projects is a high-speed train from Kyiv to Warsaw,” Horała said.

CPK to improve military mobility

Horwała pointed out that the Solidarity Transport Hub is also going to serve military purposes and will improve the mobility of Polish and NATO forces in the region.

“War in Ukraine has shown how important infrastructure is, the physical possibility to move from place to place. People tend to think that things just appear. We buy them in China and they appear on our doorstep. You have to have an actual connection - railroad or airport - and at the time of war some of those connections are cut off so we have to be independent also in terms of transportation,” Horała said.

He also mentioned the recent visit to Korea which was related to CPK as Incheon airport in Korea is a strategic advisor for the investment. It is also a frontrunner in the race for a strategic partner for the new Polish airport, while several Korean companies are interested in partnering with STH.