Looking to the East

Sports Minister Mirosław Drzewiecki and Interior Minister Grzegorz Schetyna visited China last month to meet with representatives of Chinese companies involved in the construction of transportation and sports facilities for the Olympic Games in Bejing. The politicians hope the companies' vast experience in the field can be successfully applied in Poland to help with its preparations for the Euro 2012 soccer championships.

"We went to China to confirm our huge interest in the participation of local [Chinese] firms in tenders for construction of Euro 2012 sports facilities," the Polish Press Agency quoted Drzewiecki as saying. "They have extensive experience in this field, as was shown by the sports facilities they constructed," he added.

Polish authorities also hope Chinese companies will build infrastructure in Poland at considerably lower prices than European firms. The ministers' visit came just weeks after Warsaw authorities decided to annul a tender for the construction of the central stretch of the capital's second subway line. It turned out that the European consortia bidding for the project wanted to carry out the investment at a cost of around zł.6 billion, twice as much as the city had originally intended to spend on the project.

Drzewiecki recently accused the companies of proposing unjustified prices, saying they had come to an "agreement as to how milk Poland" during the construction process.

At least two consortia from China have already expressed interest in Euro 2012 projects, with both participating in the tender for the construction of Gdańsk's Baltic Arena stadium. Representatives of Chinese construction companies are expected to come to Poland in mid-September to get acquainted with the planned Euro 2012 investments.