NBP puts its money into new treasury
The newest Polish treasury will be located in the former Fort Zegrze near Serock, 30 kilometers from Warsaw. The Nineteenth-Century fort was reconstructed during the communist era to serve as a potential headquarters in case of a major war. The Military Property Agency (AMW) sold the area to the NBP in 2002. The Treasury will have an area of 21,800 sqm and three stories, including two underground.
Today, Poland's central bank has four treasuries across Poland, including the largest one in the bank's headquarters on ul. więtokrzyska. Millions of złoty in coins and notes are stored in these treasuries, as one of the NBP's main roles is to supply currency to the market.
NBP representatives say that a new, larger and safer treasury is needed, since the existing ones are too small and outmoded. Officials say the reason for locating the treasury away from Warsaw was the desire to locate the building on a large plot, ensuring the treasury's security, as there are no civilian buildings in the area. Putting the treasury a good distance from areas densely-packed with buildings also allows for the safe transport of the money, as does the relative quality of the Warsaw-Serock road. The construction of the treasury will commence in mid 2006 and be finished in the fall of 2008.
Apart from the central treasury, NBP plans to build a back-up computer center which would twin the existing central computer system. As the central bank's press office informed the WBJ, the total cost of the investment in Serock amounts to zł.176 million.
