Eastern Polish voivodeships (Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Świętokrzyskie and regional Mazowieckie) will receive PLN 2 billion 379 million for the development of voivodeship roads from the European Funds for Eastern Poland (FEPW) programme. “The aim of the investment is to improve road connections in the region and better connect the macro-region with the rest of the country and the European Union”, reports the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy (MFiPR).
Contracts for co-financing were signed between the Polish Agency for Enterprise Development and the voivodship marshals. The signing ceremony at the MFiPR headquarters was attended by the head of the ministry, Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.
“Under the European Funds for Eastern Poland programme, we are signing 9 agreements for 9 road investments with 5 voivodships. The projects will receive 85 per cent co-financing, totalling almost 2.4 billion PLN. This means 214 km of modernised roads and 17 km of new roads. This means better connectivity within the region and with the rest of the country. It means better access to services, work and schools”, said Minister Pełczyńska-Nałęcz.
The aim of the investment will be to create better connections to the European transport network (TEN-T), important logistical hubs (border crossings, intermodal terminals, railway hubs), as well as to facilitate public transport.
The investments will also concern the construction or reconstruction of ring roads and the improvement of traffic safety. Taking transit traffic out of towns and cities means concrete benefits for the region’s inhabitants – their quality of life and safety will be improved; noise and air pollution reduced.
The programme will fund projects focused on business, adapting cities to climate change, developing low-carbon urban mobility, protecting biodiversity, developing smart energy distribution networks, increasing rail and road accessibilityand d, as well as developing sustainable tourism. The FEPW budget for 2021-2027 will be €2.64 billion.
Arkadiusz Słomczyński