Help for Polish flood repairs

Polish roads damaged by floods in May and June 2010 are to benefit from a loan worth €180 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The loan will finance the reconstruction of the roads. It will facilitate the implementation of 177 emergency road renovation and reconstruction schemes covering the repair of damage to engineering structures, roads, drainage and sewerage systems damaged in the 2010 floods.

Work started in 2010 and all schemes are scheduled for completion by 2013.

EIB vice-president Anton Rop, who is responsible for lending operations in Central Europe, said, "The EIB funds will contribute to restoring the efficiency of road transport in the country at a time when the existing infrastructure has been strained by the reduced capacity resulting from the damage caused by the 2010 floods."

The EIB, which is the long-term lending bank of the European Union, is also lending €120 million to support the design, supply and installation of an Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System on Polish roads.

Mr Rop said, "The EIB financing will also facilitate the expansion of distance-based charging for road use by commercial vehicles in Poland, generating savings in travel times by enabling smoother traffic flows".

The loan of €120 million will finance the first phase of the introduction of an ETC System for vehicles heavier than 3.5 tonnes and buses on a network of about 580km of motorways, 554km of expressways and 440km of national roads spread across Poland.

After the completion of this stage of the project, the ETC system will be enlarged as the motorway and expressway network in the country is expanded.

For both loans, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), on behalf of the National Road Fund of the Republic of Poland, is the borrower and the General Directorate for National Roads & Motorways (GDDKiA) of Poland is the project promoter.