Euroterminal on track

The opening of a 7,000-sqm warehouse marked the completion of the first stage in the Euroterminal International Logistics Center project. The Euroterminal is located at the point where the wide-gauge railway from the former Soviet Union connects with the narrow-gauge railway used in Poland (and in most other EU countries), in the Silesia voivodship town of Sławków.

Due to its traditional associations with steel-related transport, the company which owns Euroterminal is called Central Steel Industry Deliveries (Centrala Zaopatrzenia Hutnictwa, CZH). It, in turn, is owned by the Polish state's Industrial Development Agency (ARP).

Adam Bednarz, marketing manager at CZH, explained that two stages remain in this phase of construction on the Euroterminal project.

"The second stage involves the design, construction and supply of a gantry crane, and the third stage is the design and the construction of the container terminal floor, with the associated infrastructure, including railways. The combined value of these investments [including the recently opened warehouse complex] is more than zł.100 million. This includes both external funding as well as funding from CZH itself," Bednarz said.

The project is co-funded by the EU as part of its European Regional Development Fund, and Bednarz emphasized the importance of the wider impact of the Euroterminal in receiving outside funding.

"Particularly important factors which have spurred the investment in Sławków are its positive influence on the intermodal transport sector in Poland, as an alternative to road transport, and the improvement in the impact of this kind of transport on the environment."

At present, domestic and Western European companies dominate among CZH's partners, including PCC Rail Containers and Swiss Hupac. However, the dynamic rise in container transport from Asia to Europe means that Asian clients figure to play a major role in the company's activities in the coming years.