Poland wants to "make big money on Ukraine's reconstruction": expands Slavków terminal
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has announced new investments in the Sławków railway terminal to build "the largest logistics hub in Europe," Polish publication Bankier.pl reports.
According to Tusk, after the war in Ukraine ends, this terminal will become a key transshipment center for goods from all over Asia, including China.
"I will say without any exaggeration that here, in Sławków in Silesia, Poland, we will have the largest logistics hub of this type in Europe. It is not only about breaking records, it will also be a golden deal for Poland," Tusk noted.
According to him, it is important to maintain "Polish control over places like this largest logistics center in Poland."
The project involves investments by the Polish Industrial Development Agency (ARP) and partners in the terminal's infrastructure, which will allow it to practically double its transshipment capacity – from 285,000 to over 500,000 containers (TEU) per year.
The terminal is located at the intersection of the westernmost broad-gauge (1520 mm) and standard-gauge (1435 mm) railway lines, which facilitates the transshipment of containers transported by rail between the Far East and Asia and Western Europe, in particular, through Ukraine.
The Prime Minister emphasized that Poland seeks to avoid a repeat of the situation after the war in Iraq, when the country participated in the military campaign but did not benefit from post-war reconstruction.
"It's not bad to say: 'Yes, we want to make big money for Poland on the reconstruction of Ukraine.' We want to help, but we also want to make money on it, and for that you need this very hub," Tusk added.
Polish Minister of Infrastructure Dariusz Klimczak called the investments in Sławków the most effective from a logistics point of view.
According to him, they integrate well with other large-scale transport projects currently being implemented by the state – in particular, 27 railway investments in the Silesian Voivodeship worth over PLN 14 billion.
The head of the Industrial Development Agency, Wojciech Balczun, reported that the total cost of the terminal expansion is approximately 1 billion euros.
- On April 16, it became known that in anticipation of the post-war boom in Ukraine, Poland began building the Slavków railway terminal.
- On April 25, it was reported that Poland had allocated 250 million zlotys, or approximately 58.25 million euros, for soft loans for companies that will be involved in projects to rebuild Ukraine.