On the road to PPP

The government is currently carrying out analyses of express road projects - sorely needed in the run-up to Poland's hosting of the Euro 2012 soccer championships - which could be constructed through public-private partnership (PPP) agreements. According to dailyRzeczpospolita, experts believe as much as 1,300 km of express road could be built in Poland under such agreements.

Infrastructure Minister Cezary Grabarczyk has expressed his support for the idea, noting that PPPs could be used to build highways as well as expressways.

Analysis of the viability of PPP is ongoing, thus no concrete decision has been made about what would be built. Yet some choices would be obvious. "Surely those [sections] with the most traffic," former Transport Minister Jerzy Widzyk told Rzeczpospolita.

Prime candidates for PPP projects include the S8 from Wrocław to Warsaw, the S5 from Poznań to Wrocław and national road number 10 between Toruń and Warsaw. Roads connected to the A1 highway are also in dire need of development.

Any PPP projects would probably involve tolls for drivers. The government would pay the concession holder a fixed price regardless of the number of cars using the road, while all the money paid by drivers would flow into public coffers.

At present, Poland's express roads are free for non-commercial traffic; only truck drivers are obliged to pay to use them. The government has been quick to assure that this system is unlikely to change.

The idea of building express roads through PPP also has its opponents. Former Transport Minister Jerzy Polaczek has warned that the government has EU structural funds for building express roads and must use them. He noted, moreover, that the government needed to finalize its plans for highway development.

Polaczek suggested that the future extension of existing highways through PPP could be a good idea.