Stalexport may give up A4
Stalexport, holder of the concession on the A4 motorway between Kraków and Katowice should have presented plans on how it was going to finance further modernisation on the road in September 2000. It did not do so as Creditanstalt, West LD and DE PFA banks required detailed analyses of the state of the bridges on the motorway.
The motorway agency signed an annex to the concession agreement with the company on 20 September which seeks to agree on financing and tolls. However the whole financing programme has to begin again from zero which means that reconstruction of bridges, new toll collection procedure and setting up acoustic screens will be put back until next summer. This may be even a little optimistic as it may not be feasible to start construction work half way through the building season.
Part of the contract now contains demands from the financial institutions. It is not yet known what they are but it could mean that Stalexport will not hold the concession much longer. It wants to transfer it to subsidiary Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska.
Stalexport has problems and shareholders will be meeting on 15 November to decide if they want to carry on or wind up the company. They will want to keep the one positive asset they have — a concession for an already existing motorway which is in very good condition.