Road construction

The process of preparing the expressway construction project to the final stage (road works and their supervision) in Poland is under the responsibility of the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA).

In 2022, the key programme that governed the directions of development of the national road network was the National Road Construction Programme for 2014–2023 (with a perspective until 2025). Due to the consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in the form of an increase in raw material prices, the outflow of Ukrainian workers, and the extension of delivery lead times, the expenditure limit of the National Road Fund was increased in May 2022 from PLN 163.9 billion to PLN 166.5 billion. An important source of orders for construction companies is also the 100 Bypass Construction Programme for 2020– 2030. The cost of commissioning 100 bypasses has been estimated at nearly PLN 28 billion.

In 2022, GDDKiA commissioned 322 km for new roads, compared to 425 km in 2021. GDDKiA’s investment expenditures amounted to over PLN 18 billion (PLN 15.1 billion in the previous year). In addition, the Directorate signed 24 contracts for roads with a total length of 333 km and a value of approximately PLN 12.8 billion. In the case of 22 contracts, these are PBDK tasks covering a total length of 314 km and with a value of over PLN 12.4 billion. Contracts were also concluded for one 5.9 km long bypass and the construction of a second roadway on the 13.8 km long bypass (the total value of both contracts is PLN 349 million). As a result, the value of the contracts signed in 2022 was significantly lower than in 2021, when it amounted to PLN 16.8 billion.

For the second time in a row, last year, the number of tenders announced by GDDKiA decreased. In 2022, tenders were announced for 20 road sections with a total length of 227 km (including 11 tasks from PPBDK with a total length of 135 km). For comparison, in 2021 it concerned 27 sections with a total length of approximately 334 km and a value of over PLN 15 billion (25 tasks from PBDK with a total length of 325 km and 2 bypasses from the 100 Bypass Construction Programme for 2020–2030 with a total length of 9 km).

On 13 December 2022 the Council of Ministers adopted a new road programme – the Government Programme for the Construction of National Roads until 2030 (with a perspective until 2033) which presented a list of investments concerning national roads planned by the government to be implemented in the third decade of the 21st century. The main objective of the program is to complete the entire network of motorways and expressways in Poland, i.e. the missing sections of the S10, S11, S12, S16, S74, and the border section of the A2. The most important investments planned as part of the National Road Construction Program until 2030 include: widening the A4 motorway over a 370 kilometre length, between Krzyżowa and Tarnów, with an estimated cost of PLN 35.5 billion, construction of the Warsaw Agglomeration Bypass along the A50 and S50, with a length of 260 kilometres and worth PLN 35 billion, as well as the construction of a third lane on the A2 motorway between Konotopa and Łódź. These projects are part of the concept for the Central Communication Port.

RPBDK 2030 assumes the implementation of road projects along national roads, expressways and motorways, covering a total length of over 6,100 km. The new projects include tasks covering a length of 2,600 km, while the continued tasks, started under the current road programme, cover over 3,500 km.

The main source of financing for the projects included in RPBDK2030 is the National Road Fund supplied by, but not limited to, funds from EU operational programmes. The financial limit of the new programme should allow the completion of the entire target network of motorways and expressways, as set forth in the Regulation of the Council of Ministers on the network of motorways and expressways.

In 2023, GDDKiA intends to announce tenders for the construction of 565 km of roads. Their total value amounts to PLN 28.6 billion. According to GDDKiA, the funds for their implementation are ensured. As part of the Government Programme for the Construction of National Roads adopted by the Council of Ministers on 13 December 2022, it is planned to announce tenders for roads with a length of approximately 480 km. In turn, under the 100 Bypass Construction Programme, there will be projects with a total length of about 85 km.

As part of the construction of the Central Communication Port, it is planned to build 400 km in new expressways, including the construction of the Warsaw Agglomeration Bypass (S50) and the S10 for the Toruń – Naruszewo section.