EIB in € 800 million Polish road loan
27 June 2011
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved a further € 800 million loan to support the construction of motorways linking Poland with its neighbouring countries.
The latest loan will finance the construction of a 36 km stretch of A1 Motorway, which links the Baltic Sea across Poland to the Czech Republic and Slovakia to Austria, as well as a 135 km stretch of the A4, which crosses southern Poland from Germany to the Ukraine. In addition, a 5 km stretch of the S19 road will also be funded by the loan, providing access to Rzeszow - a city in south-eastern Poland.
Both A1 and A4 Motorways are parts of the Priority Trans European Network (TEN T) Corridors - roads which are targeted for funding by the European Commission because they represent crucial transport axes in the EU.
The Polish transport sector is the major beneficiary of EIB loans in the country. Since 1990, the EIB has lent € 12,5 billion in support of transport projects in the country, including the construction of new motorway sections on the A1, A2, A4 and A6 motorways, and major national roads along Pan-European Corridors II, III and VI.
The latest funding comes after the EIB approved a € 225 million loan in November last year to help fund the extension of Poland's A1 motorway.
The EIB has said that the rehabilitation and extension of trans-European infrastructure, notably transport corridors, is crucial for the successful development of Poland within the EU single market.
