Torún Bridge, Poland

The project consists of the construction of a bridge and access roads on the Vistula River on the new trajectory of National Road No 1 in Torun, which is part of the trans-European Transport Network, connecting with National Roads No 15 and No 80 between Daszyńskiego Square and Łódzka Street. The total length of the new route is about 4.1 km.

The Complaint

The project has been divided into small parts, apparently in order to minimise its real and will therefore allegedly be implemented in breach of EU law. The environmental consent has only been issued for the first stage of the project; the environmental impact assessment for the remaining stage has not been executed.

The complainant argued that the implementation of the project in a different location than the one currently chosen would cost less and that a loan from the EIB would not be required. The EIB loan raises the debt of Toruń’s population beyond what is legally allowed and it is, moreover, not necessary. The society of Polish Town Planners would, reportedly, have given a negative recommendation on the current Toruń Bridge project.

The argument is that under the urban planning of the city of 1960 another, more suitable, location had been selected and that most of Toruń citizens will not use the new bridge in its planned location. This would result in 50% increased traffic on the existing old 2-lane bridge. The cost of the Trasa-Wschodnia-location, as currently selected, will be 60-80% higher than at the Trasa-Nowomostowa-location, as for that location the length of the Bridge will be 1970 Meters (with 4.1 Km access roads) whereas in the Trasa-Nowomostowa-location the Bridge would 1130 Meters long (with 3.0 Km access roads). The bridge in the Trasa-Wschodnia-location would cost 753 Million PLN, with 100 Million PLN for land compensations, whereas the cost for the Trasa-Nowomostowa-location would be 400 Million PLN. This elevated cost for the project would bring the debt of the City over 70% of current income, whereas the Polish Public Finance Act forbids city debts to exceed 60%.

The EIB-CM assessment & investigation

Based on a detailed review of the documentation, the EIB-CM finds that an Environmental Impact Assessment, incl. full public consultations, was conducted in accordance with the applicable laws. The alternative for the bridge was selected out of 3 alternatives presented and discussed during these hearings in which it appeared that the Trasa-Nowomostowa-location would result in negative effects on the natural environment and protected areas of the buffer zone of the old town. The selection of the Trasa-Wschodnia-location was based on many factors, combining, inter alia, satisfactory economic and financial results with an acceptable environmental impact and its higher cost is ultimately justified by the complex characteristics of the area which will require access roads and interconnections. The EIB-CM also finds that the decision to request the loan for the bridge, with the consequence of a potential breach the Polish Public Finance Act with the loan exceeding the 60 % limit of the budget income of the city of Toruń does not concern any action or omission of the EIB but rather any action or omission of the borrower and that, thus, the EIB-CM is not competent to investigate this allegation.

Conclusions

Based on the investigation, the EIB-CM fails to identify an instance of breach of EC law. It would be the European Commission that would be the competent institution to deal with alleged infringements of EC law and the EIB-CM takes note that the complainant has, indeed, lodged a complaint with the European Commission who will inform the CM on the outcome of its inquiry.

On the allegation of a wrong decision in selecting the alternative for the location of the project, the EIB-CM concludes that this does not constitute any act of maladministration by the Bank on the issue and proceeds the closing of the file.