Central Transport Hub Centralny Port Komunikacyjny | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Summary | |
| Airport type | Public |
| Operator | Centralny Port Komunikacyjny Sp. z o.o. |
| Serves | Warsaw |
| Location | Gmina Baranów,Grodzisk Mazowiecki,Mazovia |
| Opened | 2032 (2032) (planned)[1] |
| Hub for | LOT Polish Airlines |
| Coordinates | 52°08′00″N20°29′00″E / 52.1333°N 20.4833°E /52.1333; 20.4833 |
| Website | https://www.cpk.pl/en/ |
| Map | |
  Central Transport Hub Location of airport in Poland | |
TheCentral Transport Hub (Polish:Centralny Port Komunikacyjny,CPK) is a plannedmajor infrastructure project inPoland aimed at the construction of a newinternational airport and the development of a nationwide integrated transport network.[2] The airport is planned to be located approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest ofWarsaw, connected to a newhigh-speed rail network andcontrolled-access highway system linking it with much of the rest of the country.
Originally approved by thePolish Government in November 2017,[3] plans for the CPK were reassessed by the winningOctober 15 Coalition after the2023 Polish parliamentary election.[4] In June 2024, the coalition government confirmed that the airport element of the project would continue.[5] As of November 2024, construction is planned to start in 2026, with the airport opening in 2032 at the earliest.[1] The cost of the air and rail elements of the plan are expected to be 131 billionPolish złoty (approx. €30.4 billion).[2]
Theairport will be designed byFoster + Partners in collaboration withBuro Happold.[6] Initially the airport is planned to have tworunways (4,000 m × 45 m), but will eventually be expanded to four. The combined airport and railway station is planned to serve 40 million passengers per year.
Planned train connections from the CPK will take 15 minutes toWarsaw Central railway station, 25 minutes toŁódź Fabryczna railway station, and 2 hours to most other major Polish cities, such asKraków,Wrocław,Poznań andGdańsk.[7] The construction of a high-speed train toFrankfurt (Oder) is also planned, which is to shorten the travel time on theBerlin-CPK route to under 3.5 hours. The opening of the CPK may result in the closure ofWarsaw Chopin Airport; however no official decision has yet been made.[8]
The airport's planned site is about 40 km west ofWarsaw, next to the villageStanisławów which is part ofGmina Baranów inGrodzisk Mazowiecki County.[9] The Baranow commune occupies a significant part of the Grodzisk County and, despite its rural character, has an extensive road infrastructure. TheA2 autostrada and railway lines run in the immediate vicinity of the potential construction site, andWrocław (Expressway S8) andPoznań (National road 92) is nearby.[10]
The choice of the location was made after a number of areas were examined. Before recommending Baranów, the Arup consulting company analyzed a list of potential locations, including:Modlin,Wołomin,Sochaczew,Mszczonów,Babsk,Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą,Grójec andRadom-Sadków. Experts took into account the distance from Warsaw, transport accessibility, land accessibility and environmental restrictions, including noise levels. Analyses showed that Baranów offers an optimal location for the project.[11]
Discussion about a new airport to replaceWarsaw Chopin Airport date back to at least 1971, during the early years ofEdward Gierek's rule.[12] In 1978, Bogusław Jankowski (died 2017)[13] first proposed his idea of a new central airport for Poland,[14] but it was only during theCabinet of Leszek Miller (2001–2004) that the idea began to be seriously considered. On 12 May 2005, theCivil Aviation Office signed a contract with theSpanish consortium Ineco-Sener to carry out a feasibility study of the central airport.[15] Such a study was nevertheless not actually carried out during the next two years, which was interpreted as a sign that the project of a new big central airport was being postponed until an indeterminate future. Nevertheless, a new airport serving Warsaw was proposed in the government's Transport Infrastructure Development Strategy for 2010–2013.
After theLaw and Justice partyregained power in 2015 the project gained pace, with the government approving the plan in November 2017.[3]
On 17 June 2018, the residents of the district ofBaranów, Grodzisk Mazowiecki County voted down the plan to build the new airport. With 47 percent voter turnout, 84 percent opposed the plan. The referendum was not binding, but DeputyInfrastructure Minister Mikołaj Wild said that the voice of the public would be taken under consideration.[16] The English name "Solidarity Transport Hub Poland" was originally proposed for the project, but was eventually phrased out in 2023.[17]
By December 2024 the management company bought 1,037 hectares, which is 40% of the dedicated area.[18]
In June 2019, the British Embassy in conjunction with the Solidarity Transport Hub Company held architectural workshops, inviting well-known architectural firms to share their preliminary concepts for what the project might look like. The studies are meant to serve as inspiration in preparing the master plan, and the investor is not obliged to use any of the designs.[19] Terminal concepts were prepared by six top-name design studios:Foster + Partners,Grimshaw Architects,Chapman Taylor,Zaha Hadid Architects,Benoy, andPascall+Watson:
In October 2024, the design of the estimated PLN 131 billion (£25 billion) airport and transport interchange was finalized by an architectural consortium led byFoster + Partners andBuro Happold.[21] Construction work is set to begin in 2026.[22]
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