Czajka moves forward

The District Court in Warsaw has rejected an appeal from Turkish-Italian consortium Sistem Yapi concerning the outcome of a tender for the modernization and expansion of the Czajka sewage treatment project in the Białołęka district of Warsaw. The Municipal Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment Company Warsaw City (MPWiK) is now set to sign a zł.2 billion contract with the tender's winner, a consortium comprising Warbud, WTE Wassertechnik, Krüger, Veolia Water Systems and OTV.

"We are glad that we will finally be able to go ahead with the project. It is good news, not only for us but also for all Varsovians," said Joanna Korzeniewska, a spokesperson for MPWiK.

The Warbud-led consortium is expected to prepare the investment's design within six months of signing the contract, with construction work to follow. The investment has to be completed by the end of 2010 so that EU funds designated for the project, amounting to R244 (zł.874) million, are not lost. Failure to meet that deadline would also see MPWiK face annual penalties for diverting sewage into the Vistula River.

According to Korzeniewska, a worst-case scenario can still be avoided. "We are going to do our best to complete the investment before the deadline," she said.

The investment, however, still faces legal problems as an environmental-impact ruling on Czajka has been challenged by local residents. The case is now being reviewed by the Local Government Court of Appeals (Samorzšdowe Kolegium Odwoławcze).

Nevertheless, MPWiK already plans construction of an incinerator plant as the next phase of the Czajka project. A tender for this part of the investment is now underway, with the bids expected to be evaluated later this month.