Silesian capital thinking
However, the European Investment Bank has already identified the Silesian capital's potential.
Katowice is a town in transition. The Silesian capital is famous for all the wrong reasons, namely its post-industrial buildings and surroundings, which are typical of the whole region, and are usually associated with gloomy landscapes dotted by coal mines and factories. However, this image could radically change, and a new road project could provide the impetus for the city's rejuvenation.
"Katowice has fabulous potential. It only has to be dressed," said Brian Field, a senior economist at the European Investment Bank (EIB), who was in Katowice to address a conference on financing municipalities.
Although regeneration is long overdue, it is constantly being postponed, due to a lack of financial means. The construction of the Gliwice-Katowice urban highway (DTŚ) is preoccupying the municipality's attention of late, but many in the region hope that this new link will drag the city up with it.
Silesia has the best-developed communication network in Poland. Some 20 percent of the country's total communication routes are in Silesia. The Mazowieckie voivodship has 122km of tram routes, and Łódzkie has 180km; Silesia is on top, with 217km. This means that one can travel from one town to another without leaving one tram.
The Katowice region consists of several towns in a line of 70km that actually overlap. Some 60 percent of the Silesian population lives in this area, with a population density of more than 1,900 persons per square kilometer. The dominating direction of the city goes from east to west, and it is this route that will have the DTŚ and A-4 motorway.
The Urban Highway, together with the reconstruction of the giant roundabout near the city's most-recognized landmark, the Spodek (saucer) sports and concert and hall, is the most important investment in Katowice. DTŚ will join Katowice and Gliwice, through four other towns: Chorzów, Świętochłowice, Ruda Śląska and Zabrze. The road's designers have calculated that the construction will result in shortening the distance between Katowice and Gliwice by 26 percent, cutting the journey time by 76 percent, and limiting the use of fuel by 47 percent.
The cost of the project is zł.800 million, of which EUR 180 (zł.735) million will be covered by the European Investment Bank, and the rest by the state's budget and the city. "It is not possible to finance big investments from the city's own means," said the president of Katowice, Piotr Uszok. Katowice is one of the most important recipients of EIB loans in Poland, and in October, it signed a contract with EIB worth "EUR 50 [zł.204] million," says Uszok.
The Katowice section of DTŚ is 6.3km long, including a tunnel of 680 meters. This section involved a considerable reconstruction of the roundabout, which is crossed by more than 1,000 trams a day. The number of lanes will be cut, the underground passages will be adjusted for disabled access, and green areas will be developed. There are also plans to build a modern object in the shape of a hemisphere meant for commercial services in the future. Construction is scheduled to end in October this year.
However, if new roads and a developed infrastructure are going to attract investors, the destination will have to be worth the trip.
Katowice is a town in transition. The Silesian capital is famous for all the wrong reasons, namely its post-industrial buildings and surroundings, which are typical of the whole region, and are usually associated with gloomy landscapes dotted by coal mines and factories. However, this image could radically change, and a new road project could provide the impetus for the city's rejuvenation.
"Katowice has fabulous potential. It only has to be dressed," said Brian Field, a senior economist at the European Investment Bank (EIB), who was in Katowice to address a conference on financing municipalities.
Although regeneration is long overdue, it is constantly being postponed, due to a lack of financial means. The construction of the Gliwice-Katowice urban highway (DTŚ) is preoccupying the municipality's attention of late, but many in the region hope that this new link will drag the city up with it.
Silesia has the best-developed communication network in Poland. Some 20 percent of the country's total communication routes are in Silesia. The Mazowieckie voivodship has 122km of tram routes, and Łódzkie has 180km; Silesia is on top, with 217km. This means that one can travel from one town to another without leaving one tram.
The Katowice region consists of several towns in a line of 70km that actually overlap. Some 60 percent of the Silesian population lives in this area, with a population density of more than 1,900 persons per square kilometer. The dominating direction of the city goes from east to west, and it is this route that will have the DTŚ and A-4 motorway.
The Urban Highway, together with the reconstruction of the giant roundabout near the city's most-recognized landmark, the Spodek (saucer) sports and concert and hall, is the most important investment in Katowice. DTŚ will join Katowice and Gliwice, through four other towns: Chorzów, Świętochłowice, Ruda Śląska and Zabrze. The road's designers have calculated that the construction will result in shortening the distance between Katowice and Gliwice by 26 percent, cutting the journey time by 76 percent, and limiting the use of fuel by 47 percent.
The cost of the project is zł.800 million, of which EUR 180 (zł.735) million will be covered by the European Investment Bank, and the rest by the state's budget and the city. "It is not possible to finance big investments from the city's own means," said the president of Katowice, Piotr Uszok. Katowice is one of the most important recipients of EIB loans in Poland, and in October, it signed a contract with EIB worth "EUR 50 [zł.204] million," says Uszok.
The Katowice section of DTŚ is 6.3km long, including a tunnel of 680 meters. This section involved a considerable reconstruction of the roundabout, which is crossed by more than 1,000 trams a day. The number of lanes will be cut, the underground passages will be adjusted for disabled access, and green areas will be developed. There are also plans to build a modern object in the shape of a hemisphere meant for commercial services in the future. Construction is scheduled to end in October this year.
However, if new roads and a developed infrastructure are going to attract investors, the destination will have to be worth the trip.
