PKP disagrees with Supreme Board of Inspection accusations

The spokesman for Polish State Railways (PKP SA) management, Czesław Głogowski, told PAP on Tuesday that the company did not agree with the Supreme Board of Inspection (NIK) accusations that the railways lost over zł. 1 billion due to the improper way of settling accounts with clients for transporting their goods. According to reports from the Chamber, PKP lost zł. 1.13 billion due to not instantly collecting receivables for cargo services and due to providing them to insolvent clients. According to Głogowski, about zł. 1 billion were liabilities from steel mills and coke mills, which were created before the end of 2001. At that time the railways had limited possibility of collecting the receivables due to restructuring of the indebted companies. Głogowski added that Polish Steel Mills (PHS) owe PKP about zł. 600 million, Sendzimira steel mill about zł. 85 million, while the debt of the Sendzimira coke plant amounts to zł. 320 million. He also said that the company expects to restructure those liabilities and collect at least some of them from the state or from new investors. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 15) M.M.