The Nowe Miasto saga: another chapter
In 2002, Lokale was still reporting that the first phase of the development had not yet broken ground, because the developer had experienced the tortuous task of acquiring land from the state-run Polish railway concern PKP. The original date for completion had been some time this year, which now seems like a pipedream. TSP for its part, has long been showing, and expressing, clear signs of battle fatigue with the various parties it has had to seek the green light from to press ahead with the project. Infrastructure Minister Marek Pol was one such, who blocked the investment just before he was due to sign the final contract, because he deemed the amount offered for PKP's land too low. There have been plenty of people on hand to suggest that the project was just too ambitious from the outset.
Rumors have abounded that TSP has had enough for some time, which is why it was happy to welcome the German developer ECE Projekt Management to take on some of the responsibilities for the gargantuan scheme. And a year ago, a statement was issued to the effect that the two companies would have a share each in it. Things have clearly moved on, and the signs are that this time, despite endless such rumors, TSP is seriously considering its role in the whole episode.
In the past couple of weeks there have been some conflicting reports. First it was announced that TSP had definitely pulled out of the project, to let ECE to take over. Then another bulletin suggested that a new company, representing a new partnership, to be called Kraków-Nowe Miasto, was to be formed as a joint venture between the two companies. "The truth," however, according to TSP's Witold Pasek, "lies somewhere in between."
ECE's spokesman Bartosz Puzdrowski, comes over as quite upbeat about the whole affair, which might not be too surprising as his firm seems certain to be involved as co-investor, at the very least, from now on. Though he rejects any suggestion that TSP will be withdrawing from the project, his enthusiasm for the work his company faces certainly hints that his firm will play a more pro-active role from now on and his demeanor contrasts markedly with Pasek's.
After chronicling the rigmarole his firm has endured since winning the contract, Pasek admits that TSP is committed to "reducing its investment in Kraków" because it has become too high "a risk". How much of its responsibility it will be divesting is, however, still undecided and the final transaction of shares will only take place, "in early May". What that will entail, however, is now genuinely intriguing and TSP could, in Pasek's words, emerge from the negotiations, "with anything from one to 50 percent of the shares in the project."
Rumors have abounded that TSP has had enough for some time, which is why it was happy to welcome the German developer ECE Projekt Management to take on some of the responsibilities for the gargantuan scheme. And a year ago, a statement was issued to the effect that the two companies would have a share each in it. Things have clearly moved on, and the signs are that this time, despite endless such rumors, TSP is seriously considering its role in the whole episode.
In the past couple of weeks there have been some conflicting reports. First it was announced that TSP had definitely pulled out of the project, to let ECE to take over. Then another bulletin suggested that a new company, representing a new partnership, to be called Kraków-Nowe Miasto, was to be formed as a joint venture between the two companies. "The truth," however, according to TSP's Witold Pasek, "lies somewhere in between."
ECE's spokesman Bartosz Puzdrowski, comes over as quite upbeat about the whole affair, which might not be too surprising as his firm seems certain to be involved as co-investor, at the very least, from now on. Though he rejects any suggestion that TSP will be withdrawing from the project, his enthusiasm for the work his company faces certainly hints that his firm will play a more pro-active role from now on and his demeanor contrasts markedly with Pasek's.
After chronicling the rigmarole his firm has endured since winning the contract, Pasek admits that TSP is committed to "reducing its investment in Kraków" because it has become too high "a risk". How much of its responsibility it will be divesting is, however, still undecided and the final transaction of shares will only take place, "in early May". What that will entail, however, is now genuinely intriguing and TSP could, in Pasek's words, emerge from the negotiations, "with anything from one to 50 percent of the shares in the project."
