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2016-11-30 00:00:00
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In the coming months, the S7 expressway between Kazimierzowo and Koszwaly will be receiving upgrades in northern Poland thanks to a €270 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). With the loan in place, a 2x2-lane expressway will be constructed which partially uses the existing road and combines it with a new road in Warminsdo-Mazurskie and Pomorskie. In total, four interchanges and around seventy engineering structures will be covered with the project as well as two of the bridges over Vistula.
EIB Vice-President, Vazil Hudak, has said “The project will help unblock a major traffic bottleneck both for long-distance traffic and between the Gdańsk and Elbląg urban areas; improve the quality of life of citizens through increased transport safety; and have a positive impact on the environment due to a decrease in pollution. The EIB loan will be instrumental in this.”
In terms of the loan itself, it will be provided to Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) which has been involved in projects with the EIB on many occasions previously. Pawel Nierada, Vice-President of BGK, said “ The agreement signed today confirms the fruitful cooperation between BGK and the EIB, on-going already for almost 15 years. It allows us to acquire long-term financing for, among others, strategic road investments in Poland. Taking into account todays’ agreement the total value of EIB financing for the National Road Fund amounts to EUR 11.3bn.”
For the project, the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) will be in control of the construction as well as the operation and maintenance thereafter. After the bank receives the loan, the GDDKiA will be the final beneficiary as they are in control of the complete road network in the country. In total, the project is said to cost €680 million with the EIB funding around 40% of this amount and the rest coming from EU Cohesion Fund grants as well as the budget from Poland itself.
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