The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed two loans totalling EUR 300 million in Poland:
- EUR 180 million to finance the reconstruction of roads damaged by the floods in Poland during May and June 2010, and
- EUR 120 million to support the design, supply and installation of an Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System.
EIB Vice-President Mr Anton Rop, responsible for lending operations in Central Europe, including Poland, commented: “The EIB funds will contribute to restoring the efficiency of road transport in the country at a time when the existing infrastructure has been strained by the reduced capacity resulting from the damage caused by the 2010 floods. The EIB financing will also facilitate the expansion of distance-based charging for road use by commercial vehicles in Poland, generating savings in travel times by enabling smoother traffic flows”.
The loan of EUR 180 million will facilitate the implementation of 177 emergency road renovation and reconstruction schemes covering the repair of damage to engineering structures, roads, drainage and sewerage systems damaged in the 2010 floods. The respective works started in 2010 and all schemes are scheduled for completion by 2013.
The loan of EUR 120 million will finance the first phase of the introduction of an ETC System for vehicles heavier that 3.5 tonnes and buses on a network of about 580 km of motorways, 554 km of expressways and 440 km of national roads spread across Poland. After completion of this stage of the project, the ETC system will be incrementally enlarged as the motorway and expressway network in the country is expanded.
In the case of both loans, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), on behalf of the National Road Fund of the Republic of Poland, is the borrower and the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) of Poland is the project promoter.