Port Polska, the developer of Poland’s planned central airport, has completed the contracting process for the design of 36 supporting facilities, awarding 18 agreements worth approximately PLN 117 million net (about $30.1 million or €26.8 million).
The state-owned developer announced on 15 October that it had signed the final agreement under the design programme, which covers infrastructure ranging from an air traffic control tower and cargo facilities to a multistorey car park, emergency-service buildings and airport operations facilities.
Sixteen Polish design companies are involved in preparing the documentation, marking a procurement milestone in one of the country’s largest infrastructure investment programmes.
The PLN 117 million represents the value of design contracts, not the cost of constructing the facilities. Design work remains under way, and the announcement does not mean that the 36 buildings are already under construction.
What the 18 contracts cover
The agreements form part of Port Polska’s Support Infrastructure Engineering programme, which is intended to provide the buildings and operational facilities needed for the airport to function beyond its main passenger terminal and runways.
The contracts cover conceptual, architectural, technical and detailed design work, together with the preparation of documentation needed to obtain relevant administrative decisions and permits. They also include architectural supervision during subsequent project stages.
Among the planned facilities are an air traffic control tower, airport operations control centre, fire and rescue-service buildings, police station, data centre, maintenance bases, catering facilities, cargo terminals and a VIP terminal.
The final, eighteenth agreement concerns a goods-sorting facility that will handle deliveries from external suppliers to retail and catering outlets inside the passenger terminal.
The facility will be designed to move goods between the airport’s publicly accessible area and the passenger terminal while meeting operational and security requirements.
Although these buildings are less prominent than the main terminal, they will be essential to the airport’s planned commercial and operational activities.
Air traffic control tower among the largest contracts
One of the largest individual design agreements covers the airport’s air traffic control tower.
According to Port Polska, architectural firm JSK Architekci secured a contract worth more than PLN 15 million net to prepare the tower’s design.
The structure is intended to become one of the airport’s most recognisable buildings alongside the passenger terminal.
Another major agreement, valued at PLN 11 million net, covers the design of airport maintenance facilities.
These will include buildings for vehicle maintenance, snow-clearing operations, equipment storage and administrative activities. Their combined usable floor area is expected to exceed 30,000 square metres.
The infrastructure is intended to support the airport’s day-to-day operations, particularly the maintenance of equipment and facilities required to keep aircraft operations running.
Cargo terminals and 5,000-space car park
Cargo infrastructure represents another substantial part of the design programme.
A contract worth more than PLN 12.5 million net covers the first cargo terminal and a freight-forwarding warehouse, together with associated facilities.
The buildings are planned for the boundary between the airport’s landside area, which is publicly accessible, and its airside area, where access is controlled.
The facilities will support the movement of freight between aircraft, warehouses and ground transport, forming part of the airport’s planned logistics operations.
The design programme also includes a multistorey car park providing approximately 5,000 spaces for passengers, visitors and airport employees.
The building is expected to accommodate short- and long-stay parking, car-hire services, a VIP area and electric-vehicle charging facilities.
These contracts concern design preparation rather than completed facilities or the award of the main construction contracts.
Polish engineering companies secure work
The procurement programme began with two framework agreements signed in 2023.
The first, concluded in January of that year, involved 13 design firms or consortia. The second, signed in March, involved 15 firms or consortia.
Those arrangements established a pool of qualified architectural and engineering contractors from which Port Polska could commission individual design packages without repeating the entire initial qualification process.
The developer has now signed all 18 implementing agreements under those arrangements.
Port Polska says 16 Polish companies are participating in the resulting design work.
The programme provides contracts for domestic engineering and architectural businesses and gives them experience in specialised airport infrastructure, including complex operational buildings and Building Information Modelling (BIM).
BIM is a digital approach to designing and coordinating construction projects, allowing engineers, architects and contractors to work with shared information about buildings and infrastructure.
Experience on large airport projects could help participating firms compete for other technically demanding infrastructure contracts, although the company has not quantified any future commercial benefits.
Part of a PLN 131.7bn infrastructure programme
The supporting-facilities contracts represent one component of the much larger Port Polska investment programme.
The development is being delivered by Centralny Port Komunikacyjny (CPK), the state-owned company responsible for Poland’s planned central airport and associated transport infrastructure.
The new airport is planned between Warsaw and Łódź and is intended to connect aviation with high-speed rail and road networks.
Under the government’s multiannual investment programme for 2024–2032, the broader development has a planned expenditure envelope of PLN 131.7 billion.
That figure covers the wider programme, including rail and associated infrastructure, and should not be confused with the PLN 117 million supporting-facility design package.
In an investment update published on 8 October, Port Polska reported that it had launched 31 investment procurement procedures worth more than PLN 14 billion by the end of September.
The company also reported that preparatory work was progressing at the airport site, including testing of foundation piles for the passenger terminal and construction of temporary site infrastructure.
The main terminal, supporting facilities, baggage systems, transport connections and other airport infrastructure are being developed through separate procurement and delivery arrangements.
The airport remains scheduled to open in 2032, alongside the first section of the Warsaw–Łódź high-speed railway. Its initial passenger capacity is planned at approximately 34 million annually, with provision for expansion as demand grows.
These remain planned milestones rather than completed outcomes.
Design work continues before construction
The signing of all 18 agreements closes the contracting stage for this particular supporting-facility design programme, but substantial work remains before the facilities can be built.
Contractors must prepare or finalise the required designs, while relevant administrative decisions and permits must be obtained where necessary.
The developer will also need to progress the procurement and construction stages for the individual buildings.
Port Polska has not published a complete contract-by-contract timetable or a comprehensive list of all 18 agreements and their individual values in its latest announcement.
For Poland’s engineering sector, the immediate development is the award of a substantial package of specialist design work. For the airport project, it represents progress in preparing the operational infrastructure needed to support future passenger and cargo services.
The next significant milestones will be the completion of design documentation, relevant permits and the award of construction contracts for the supporting facilities.
