Euro 2012 to give Poland € 20 billion boost

Construction projects linked to the Euro 2012 football tournament will add an estimated PLN 94,7 billion (€ 20,0 billion) to the Polish construction market according to a new report from consultancy PMR Publications. The bulk of the contracts are expected to be awarded this year, leading to increasing construction activity in 2010 and 2011.

According to PMR, some 52% of investments associated with Euro 2012 in Poland will go on improving road transport. A further 32% will go on rail projects, with 4% for hotels, 4% for air transport and 2% for telecommunications. Only 7% of the money - about PLN 6.63 billion (€ 1,4 billion) - will be spent on venues and other sporting facilities.

Bartlomiej Sosna, construction market analyst at PMR and the author of the report said, "Organisation of Euro2 2012 and the enormous amount of EU funds are the best things that could happen to the Polish construction industry. The planned projects gain significance especially when seen in the context of outflows of private capital from the economy and the weakening conditions for the developer segment."

In addition to the investments in Poland, PMR estimates that some € 10 billion will be spent invested in Ukraine, which is co-hosting the 2012 tournament with Poland. Although stadium construction is said to be further advanced in the Ukraine, the report raises concerns as to whether the supporting infrastructure will be ready in time.

"On the Ukrainian said, some of the railway- and airport-related projects can face problems because sufficient and reliable sources of funding still have not been identified for them," it said.