Poland’s $9BN Mega Airport

Poland is planning to build one of the largest  transport hubs in all of Europe this new huge mega   airport will connect both high-speed trains and  air travel and has even attracted strong interest   from NATO to secure its eastern flank but there's  a catch Warsaw already has two airports and plans   to replace them have caused some controversy  the new government is also really not a fan   of the project so what are the reasons behind  this Mega project does Poland really need one   of the biggest airports in Europe or is it just  to publicity stunt I'm Regis now let's dive deep   and find out located 40 km west of Warsaw the  solidarity transport Hub will integrate air   Rail and Road Transport with 2,000 kilm of new  high-speed railway lines connecting the capital   with major Polish cities and rail baltica it aims  to handle over 40 million passengers annually by   2035 which is about half of London Heathrow it's  Poland's shot at becoming a major transport hub   for Central and Eastern Europe but the airport  as an idea is actually nothing new the concept   has been around since the 1970s since the year  2000 analyses reports and feasibility studies   have been carried out at government level which  then came to the conclusion in 2010 that Warsaw   needs a new airport this is because chopan airport  Poland's largest to date has nearly outgrown its   capacity to meet current and future demands for  Air transport the government can't really do much   to prolong its life either the airport was once  built far away from the capital but the city is   grown around it and there's really no room to  expand in 2019 this tire Giant in service since   the 1930s handled nearly 19 million passengers  while having a maximum capacity of 22 million   annually given the ongoing post-pandemic traffic  recovery the airport is projected to reach its   limit in the next 3 years a new airport seems  like the only remaining option this is where the   solidarity transport Hub also known as the central  Communication port or CPK comes in with plans to   handle 30 million passengers by 2028 and 40  million annually by 2035 but the CPK is much   more than just an airport it aims to become a key  component of Poland's transport system not only   by air but also by land all major cities will  be connected to the hub with travel times of no   more than 2 and 1/2 hours by a high-speed trains  this will involve developing 10 rail spokes rais   radiating from The Hub along with two additional  lines serving cities previously without any rail   connection nearly 2,000 km of new high-speed  railway lines will have to be built for this   but once it's done every place in Poland will  be easy to reach this is quite important in   terms of international traffic as well take a  high-speed train to Warsaw from Hungary czechia   or Slovakia for example arrive at the Hub and  then fly anywhere all in one place but economic   and infrastructure benefits aside the CPK has  something less obvious but equally important to   offer defense capabilities one of the lessons  learned from the war in Ukraine is that Poland   needs a high capacity airport capable of 247  operations suitable for cargo and connected to   the railway and Road networks NATO Representatives  have already labeled the CPK as key to securing   its eastern flank which is why the Hub has been  planned as dual use infrastructure a civil airport   in times of peace and a military installation that  can be used by NATO support and rapid response   forces in the event of war the situation in  Eastern Europe and the war in Ukraine specifically   is actually one of the reasons why the project  is still on the table in the first place the CPK   would extend the Baltic black a GNC line and could  also include a high-speed link between Warsaw and   Ukraine a connection like this could offer a  country at War alternative routes and enhance   NATO's Eastern flank but now let's take a look  at the design of this proposed new airport this   Mega project has actually attracted attention from  some of the biggest names in the industry Grimshaw   Chapman Taylor zaha Hadid Architects Benoy and  Pascal and Watson all submitted their concepts   for the project each unique in its own way the  Chapman Taylor project for the terminal building   featured a massive transparent Dome symbolizing  unity and reflecting Poland's national identity   with six floors each representing distinct polish  Landscapes the design focused on functionality   over grandiosity and aimed to reduce transfer  time and walking distances for passengers   zaha Hadid Architects developed not one but three  designs focusing on integrating the airport with   the railway station as well as using lots of  light and Greenery ultimately none of them   won though the one that clicked with the cpk's  administration was crafted by renowned British   architect sir Norman Foster the studio has already  completed the full design concept as part of a   150 million euro contract they're going for a  traditional yet futuristic design the airport   terminal railway station and a public transport  interchange will all be strategically located   in close proximity to each other for the sake of  convenience and they'll all merge together into   one point a large interchange Plaza with lots of  natural light drawing from the campinos forest   near Warsaw the Interior Space will be heavily  decorated with trees and Greenery in order to   reduce stress as well and because the future moves  quickly designers have to think ahead which is   why the airport has been optimized to be modular  this allows the Transportation Hub to adapt to the   everchanging operational needs the key-shaped  main terminal will be built first while the   x-shaped one will be added at a later point when  there's actually a need for it but to be honest   there's not much information available about the  key shaped main terminal but plenty of renderings   of the x-shaped terminal so maybe they've changed  their plan again and want to build the x-shaped   terminal first nonetheless both terminals will  be interconnected potentially through a shuttle   train system there's even a plan for a verp port  where unmanned aerial Vehicles will be operated   from the airport in the future well if there is  a future for this airport that is on October 15th   of last year Poland held its general elections  and the law and Justice party which started CPK   won the most seats but couldn't form its own  government instead the Civic Coalition came   to power and it's not exactly a fan of this Mega  project made up of several opposing parties the   new government has stated that the CPK me to be  reviewed and that it might not be needed at all   as part of the changes in governance in January  cpk's CEO was let go from his position and the   new government appointed its own commissioner with  that the supervisory board was also changed the   new commissioner then announced an audit on all  activities and objectives and how they're to be   achieved the review would also cover the financing  commitments and contracts the company had entered   into as well as its structures and management  there have also been suggestions that there are   ways to improve the existing airports and that  this should be a priority over the construction   of a new one with all this back and forth it's  now unlikely that the CPK will see the light   of day in 2028 as originally planned at the same  time large scale geological surveys have already   been given the green light CPK has already  acquired land the size of Heath airport and   the demolition of properties and relocation of  the residents who have voluntarily sold their   properties has been underway for months by all  estimations cancelling CPK now would be a major   blow to Poland in more ways than one but if the  project continues Central and Eastern Europe might   benefit massively from one of its first real Mega  projects so what do you think of CPK does Poland   actually need to build one of Europe's biggest  airports and will it actually be built at all   let us know your thoughts in the comments down  below we hope you enjoyed this episode of Mega   builds and as always thank you for watching  and we'll see you in the next video [Music]

Channel: MegaBuilds

Views: 247,530

Keywords: megaprojects, construction, megabuilds, poland, airport, europe, europe airport, airport construction, biggest megaprojects in europe, europe megaprojects, solidarity transport hub, poland new airport, warsaw new airport, chopin airport, central communication port, cpk, cpk poland, largest airport in the world, largest airport in europe, nato airport, nato, nato airport poland, nato eastern flank, foster and partners, civic coalition, donald tusk, mikolaj wild, maciej lasek

Id: Evbzjj7SxZA

Length: 8min 1sec (481 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 20 2024