THE COMMENCEMENT OF A2 MOTORWAY ŚWIECKO-NOWY TOMYŚL ONE OF THE BIGGEST MOTORWAY PROJECTS IN EUROPE

On December 1st 2011, an official opening of concessive A2 motorway at its final sector (Nowy Tomyśl-Świecko) shall take place. It is the finalization of the traffic artery that is important for the whole country as well as for Europe, since it connects Poland with the network of European motorways. The commencement of the A2 new section shall improve the transfer of people and goods in Trans-European transport corridor and make this transfer faster, safer and cheaper.

The total value of the realization of this investment comes to 1.6 bln EUR and the cost of construction amounts to almost 1.3 mld EUR. Concessive A2 motorway, reaching the border with Germany, is the biggest infrastructural project in Poland and one of the biggest projects in Europe, realized in the system of public-private partnership. The new A2 section will be available for use six months before the date fixed in the Agreement with the government. Until May 21st 2012 the use of 106 km of motorway will be untolled. It will make the time of travelling much shorter (from Poznań to Berlin – 2 hours shorter), it will improve the road safety and it will enable the country, as well as municipalities neighbouring the motorway, to develop.

“The dream of many drivers about fast, safe and cheap connection with the network of European motorways will become true as soon as 1st December. The Motorway to the border with Germany will be a strategic section on the map of Trans-European transport corridor. It will have a huge impact on our economy – it will make the trade exchange and traffic much easier between Poland and European Union. I am sure that A2 motorway will affect the development of tourism and economical exchange of municipalities and districts that are located near to motorway”, says Andrzej Patalas, the President of Board AWSAII.

The newest technology available
The newest concrete technology, satisfying the highest norms of road and motorway construction in the countries of European Union, was used during the construction of the new A2 section. Concrete paving is much more resistant to unfavorable conditions, which is proved by a set of examples from abroad. According to German research, after 23 years of exploitation, the rate of repairment for concrete paving comes only to 5%, with 80-100% rate for asphalt paving.

Environmental protection
The investment was realized with respect to all norms and standards of roads and motorways construction in European Union countries. The cost of construction comes to EUR 1 bln 298 mln, that is EUR 12.2 mln for 1 kilometre of fully equipped motorway. The vast part of budget, that is 25 percent, is spent on environmental protection. It means that every fourth PLN is spent on ecological purposes. The motorway to the border with Germany runs through forest areas in 85%, Natura 2000 areas included. Alongside the 106-kilometre long section, there were build almost 200 passages for animals. It makes the A2 motorway the biggest ecological project in Europe. According to Piers Vickers, the representative of European Investment Bank, the main creditor of the investment, the construction of motorway could serve as an exemplary model and was executed with the respect to the highest standards of environmental protection.

“The involvement of European Investment Bank in the realization of this venture is unprecedented. Both the opinion of Mr Vickers, given during the visitation of motorway construction, as well as the rate of loan given for finalization of 60% worth of investment is the best certificate of Autostrada Wielkopolska highest credibility”, says Zofia Kwiatkowska, PR officer of AWSAII.

Information about opening A2 section Świecko-Nowy Tomyśl
The Grand Opening ceremony of A2 motorway to the border with Germany is planned on November 30th 2011 at Trzciel Interchange – on the border of Greater Poland and Lubusz Voivodeships. The participation in this event was announced by the President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, the Prime Minister of Brandenburg – Matthias Platzeck, The Marshal of Greater Poland Voivodeship, The Marshall of Lubusz Voivodeship, Greater Poland Voivode and Lubusz Voivode. The special guest is worldwide known composer, Oscar-winning Jan A. P. Kaczmarek.

Motorway Świecko – Nowy Tomyśl in figures:

• New section of A2 motorway is: over 6mln m3 of embankments = the volume of over 2 Cheops Pyramids = the volume of 400,000 of TIR vehicles

• Embankments on the construction of new A2 section come to : over 6 mln m3 = the volume of 800 football-ground-sized sandpits

• The volume of embankments is: the space of 240,000 of railway wagons of 3,500 km length

• The complete area of of concrete paving comes to: over 2mln m2 = the space of over 3,500 Olympic-size pools

• The complete area of concrete used on the new motorway section is the surface of almost 300 football grounds.

Additional information:

AWSAII

AWSAII is a special purpose vehicle linked with AWSA, created for the construction and operation of  A2 Świecko – Nowy Tomyśl section. Its target shareholders are: Kulczyk Holding SA (40%), Meridiam A2 West S a.r.l. (40%), Strabag AG (10%) and KWM Investment GmbH (10%). The President of Board is Andrzej Patalas.

EIB

The European Investment Bank (EIB) was established in 1958 by the Treaty of Rome as European Union bank granting long-term loans to the public and private sector for European projects in areas such as: consistency and convergence of
EU regions, support for small and medium enterprises, environmental protection programs, research, development and innovation, transport, energy. The Bank operates in the EU and in approximately 140 countries around the world, with which the EU has concluded cooperation agreements. EIB is a non-profit institution. It is owned by the Member States of the European Union. EIB does not use funds from the EU budget, and its activity is financed through loans on financial markets.
The projects supported by the Bank are carefully selected on the basis of the following
criteria:
– they must contribute to the objectives of the EU,
– they must be reasonable in terms of economy, finance and technology, as well as safe for the environment,
– they should attract funds from other sources.

Public-private partnership

Public-private partnership is considered a beneficial form of realization of infrastructural investments in many countries. In the EU, PPP is the most widespread in the Great Britain, Spain and Portugal. In the UK, project realized under PPP represent 15% of all public investments. Concessive partnership model is also used in countries such as France and Italy. In recent years, PPP is gaining popularity in Germany, where the high public debt forced the local governments to try this solution. In England and France, the PPP was introduced  at the turn of the 70s and 80s.
All in all,  there were 107 proceedings for PPP contract signing announced, and 18 agreements signed in Poland since the beginning of 2009 to September 2011. The total value of signed contracts is approximately 625 million zł net. Most Polish projects are reported by local governments, which in this way, for example, finance the construction of playgrounds, schools, health facilities, roads, parking lots, energy infrastructure. In 2000-2009, the value of PPP projects in Europe amounted to a yearly average of about 20 bln EUR, with an average size project of 182 million euros. Most initiatives of this type are carried out in the transport and environmental protection sectors, and an increase in projects related to education and health is also observed.

For further information, please contact:
Zofia Kwiatkowska, PR officer, Autostrada Wielkopolska II S.A.
tel. +48 608 479 541, email: [email protected]
www.autostrada-a2.pl