LOT may back airport plan
The transport ministry together with its advisors is still studying how best to finance the redevelopment of the Warsaw - Okęcie airport. The only thing that is certain is that the state is not going to pay for anything. It is now rumoured that Polish Airlines LOT may be prepared to put up the cash although this is currently denied by the company.
A financial commitment from LOT would be a logical consequence of the decision by the airline and its allies in the Qualiflyer Group to create a hub in Warsaw and treble the number of flights.
At the same time the tender to choose a developer is stuck following the decision of Mieczysław Nowak, the acting director of Warsaw - Okęcie airport to cancel the first phase of the process.
Currently all the offers that made it from the qualifying stage of the project are once again being examined by the tender commission. The six companies in the race are Budimex with the Spanish Ferrovial, Mitex with the French Bouygues Batiment, the Austrian Bau Holding, the Swedish Skanska as well as two German companies Hochtief and Bilfinger + Berger. Transport minister Jerzy Widzyk says that the project should be finished in four years time.. This means that the tender procedure could still drag out several more months.