Iwo Nowak: The state of Polish roads is best known to their users, and their opinions are widely known. In the event of any major “stumbles” in the implementation of the established schedule for the construction and renovation of our transport routes, it is usually the current head of the Ministry of Infrastructure who explains the situation in the press, on the radio, and on television, although sometimes perhaps not for his own sins?
Janusz Piechociński: Running the Ministry of Infrastructure in Poland is a constant walk through a minefield. The minister is responsible and held accountable for the state, maintenance, modernization, and construction of the road network, and yet it is known that the current road infrastructure is still the result of many years of neglect and omissions, a lack of good law, a lack of a contracting market, and above all, money, money, and money again. It is widely and rightly pointed out, not only in the world of Polish politics and local government, that infrastructure is the main barrier to the country’s modernization processes, our economic competitiveness in the European space, and social expectations and costs. However, when it comes to choosing, the logic that has prevailed for years is: no government will be toppled for the lack of 50 or 100 km of motorway or expressway, whereas steelworkers, shipyard workers, doctors, and teachers might.
I. N.: This time, Minister Cezary Grabarczyk is in the crosshairs…
J. P.: Road investment processes are areas for which Minister Grabarczyk is constitutionally responsible; they are very sensitive to the economic climate, and in Polish conditions, the first 2-3 years of any minister are really a verification of the preparatory work done under the direction of their predecessors. The “delayed ribbon-cutting effect,” often under incomparable external conditions for the minister and their subordinates (budgetary situation, cost of money on the European financial market, the content of schedules for obtaining EU funds for roads by government agencies and local government, social protests, the capacity of “non-road” public administration), undoubtedly makes it difficult to make a reliable, synthetic assessment.
I. N.: You mentioned good law. Without that, it is probably difficult to talk about starting anything in the long term? Especially a long-term investment process in Polish road construction.
J. P.: The most important legislative achievements are related to streamlining the legal status in order to improve investment processes. The “special road act” was amended, and later its operating principles were extended to other areas of infrastructure, thanks to which the investment implementation process was shortened, and properties for construction are acquired more efficiently. The decision on determining the location of a road and the building permit decision were replaced by the decision on authorization for the implementation of an investment. The issue of so-called “fair compensation” was also regulated. New legal possibilities for implementing investments were introduced – the Act on Concessions for Construction Works or Services allows private entrepreneurs to join in the implementation of investments, both municipal (such as the construction of bridges or viaducts) and tasks related to the maintenance of municipal infrastructure. The previously dead Public-Private Partnership Act was amended. Provisions in public procurement law were changed, allowing for corrections to be made to the content of the notice. Changes agreed with the European Commission in acts regarding the environment and public participation [in] the process of preparing and implementing investments were implemented so that all infrastructure investments meet EU requirements in terms of environmental protection, which eliminates the risk of losing EU funds for roads. In 2009, in crisis mode, changes were made to the functioning of the National Road Fund (KFD) and its ability to raise funds through the issuance of bonds under new conditions was increased. In this area, the minister had the full support of the Parliamentary Infrastructure Committee and the entire Sejm, for whom making these changes was a cross-party task. However, departmental and government legislators did not avoid mistakes or a lack of recognition of the financial market, as evidenced by the fact that several amendments were made within a few months. Only at the end of the second year of government was the formal and legal system of the investment process on Polish roads organized. It seems that after the experience of applying the special road act since 2003 and the bitter experience of 2005 – 2006, especially in the area of environmental protection and public participation in social consultations, the legal barriers to the preparation and implementation of road and motorway construction should have been eliminated as early as the first half of 2008.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 1/2010.